Changed, Book 3: The Monster Under the Bed
by Koriat Cyredanthem
Summary: Leo and Mikey get into a fight and Mikey runs away. He meets their counterparts, or three of them, and learns that they need help with the fourth and have come to recruit the Battle Nexus Champion and his brothers. DEDICATED TO PULDOH. SERIES DISCONTINUED
1. Good Morning, Mikey!

A/N: Alright, here's Mikey's story

**A/N: Alright, here's Mikey's story. Dedicated to Puldoh, because she helped me so much! She's given me the basic story. If you like what so see, give a hand to Puldoh, too. If you have an idea, drop me a review or e-mail. Check my profile for an important poll to do with this series. I WILL NOT FINISH IT UNTIL AT LEAST TEN PEOPLE HAVE POLLED. Sorry, but I want a good representation.**

Mikey grinned as he woke. He felt good today… Better than ever, in fact. A rustling sounded next to him. Klunk meowed for his breakfast.

"Alright, Klunk. I'm starving!" He donned his belt, masks, and nunchucks before slipping into the kitchen.

"Good morning," he called cheerfully to Leo, who sat at the table and sipped a cup of coffee. Kavara smiled at him thoughtfully.

"Good morning," he said softly. His eyes were covered like usual, but his wings rustled. Mikey grinned and opened the fridge. Leo's black wings matched his black scales, courtesy of a mind dragon that left its mark on the eldest. Also, Leo stood almost three feet taller than Mikey now. He had gone through another growth spurt that left him banging his _shoulders_ on the doorways.

"You keep growing and you won't fit in here," Mikey chuckled as he spooned cat food into a dish for Klunk. Leo's tail tapped the floor gently.

"Yeah… Donnie thinks he can stop me from growing too much," Leo sighed. He put down his cup and stood up carefully. "Listen, Mikey, I'm sorry. I've been ignoring you, lately."

_So, that's why he's in a mood._ Mike just grinned, though, not letting his feelings show through. "It's okay, bro. Beth's taking up a lot of your time. And you've gotta be head of the family. I understand."

"I still should spend more time with you. I spar with Raph, work with Don on my gene problem, and train Beth and Lincoln."

"Well, wanna play a video game?"

"Sure. Pick one."

Mikey beamed and ran out into the living room. He greeted Donnie, who sleepily returned the customary phrase, and launched onto the sofa. Donnie and Raph had reinforced it well, so when Leo sat down gingerly next to him, it barely creaked.

"Alright, let's play _Fast and Furious_!" Mikey popped the game in and tossed Leo a controller, grabbing his own as well. The start screen popped on and Mikey spent five minutes teaching Leo what he had to do and how to do everything. The turtle's large digits barely fit on the controller, but he made do in the end.

They played for an hour together, Mike ecstatic that Leo was playing with him again. Leo's wings twitched as their owner tried to maneuver his character. One folded over him gently, heating him up comfortably. Mikey felt himself drifting off and announced that he wanted to nap.

Leo chuckled and picked him up in his wing, something easy now for the large turtle. Mikey cuddled close to Leo as he shut the game off and sat back down carefully. He put an arm around his shell and looked around at the slight noise.

Beth walked in, her stomach swollen but not too large yet. Leo smiled as she came and sat down on his other side and twitched his wing over her as well.

"How're you feeling?"

"Good. Don says it should be two more months or so," she said quietly, gesturing to Mikey. "How's he doing? He looks tired."

"He's fine, now. Thanks for letting me off the hook for a while. We played _Fast and Furious_."

"Race, race, race, race," Mikey chanted in his sleep, turning slightly and putting his head on Leo's thigh.

"Awww." Don came in and sat in the chair opposite them, with Raph close behind. Both looked like they had been working, Don with his chemicals and Raph with his punching bag. "Snug as a bug in a rug."

"Which rhymes," Leo pointed out needlessly. "So, how're you all this morning?"

"Fine. I think I've made another breakthrough, Leo, if I could get a fresh sample of your blood please."

"Sure. Later, though, Mikey's asleep and he's kinda holding my wing joint tightly."

"So, Beth, how are you feeling?"

"Better, actually. At least I can eat again." She made a face at which Leo laughed and kissed her gently. "Where's Mom, Dad, and Lincoln?"

"They went out for a while. It's safe now, since we've been given up for as dead or on another planet, depending on who you ask," Raph snickered. "The Foot is back in action, Leo. Caught a couple robbing some old lady down by the river."

"Hm. We'll go out in pairs from now on. If one of us is hurt, I don't want hi stranded until we can get him. It's too dangerous; everyone in this city would know who and what we are."

"Keep your horns on, Fearless Leader," Raph snorted.

"Hard to take them off," Leo laughed. "And painful." He rubbed the horn bases with a grimace. Don had wanted to see if they shed and had yanked them pretty hard. One was still tender and Leo was careful not to ram anything.

"Hey, I'm sorry," Don apologized again.

"Hey, no lasting harm done," Leo shrugged. "Just still a little tender. Beth, do you want to go with your parents tonight? They're going to a movie with Lincoln, 'cause he's going stir crazy in the house."

The Jacksons, except Beth, had moved into their old home again. Beth stayed with Leo since it was too risky to have him over there, or traveling back and forth every night. Both wanted to be together, and the parents were fine with her living there. They told everyone who asked that she was in Colorado, in a little town called Ouray, on a vacation.

"Hm, sure," Beth mused. "I need some fresh air."

"The air in here is fresh," Don huffed. "Fresh enough."

"I know, I was kidding, Donnie. It's very nice in here, actually. The lair has more of a constant temperature than my house."

"That's because, if it wasn't constant, they could hibernate or start sunning themselves," Leo laughed. He had been changed into a warm-blooded "reptile", and so didn't feel the differences in temperature so much.

"Leave off, Leo. I've seen you in front of the heater after lunch," Mikey snorted, waking up and lifting his head. "And with your wings spread like sails, I'd say you sunbathe, too. Or would it be heat-bathe?"

"Whatever. Yes, I do that sometimes, but you guys will hibernate if it gets too cold."

"And _that_ is why I keep the temperature constant. Not to mention, cold makes Leo cranky." Don stuck out his tongue at the leader, who mockingly growled. His vocal chords also changed, so his growl was actually threatening sometimes. Unlike Raph, whose growl was more of, "Stay away", Leo's said, "I'll bite you". And with his sharp teeth, no one wanted that.

"Well, I think I'm going to make lunch," Beth said. Mikey jumped up to help, since he loved cooking. Between them, they created all of the meals in the lair. Beth waddled off, putting a hand on her back with a slight groan.

"Leo, I swear, your kid is heavier than I am," she complained.

"Hey, he or she is yours, too!" he protested. "And it isn't!"

Don was smirking at Leo when the leader looked back to his brothers with a sigh. "What?"

"Oh, nothing. Who would have guessed Leo, Ninja Master, would fall in love and have a kid?"

"It's your turn next, Donnie," Leo threatened. He sneered teasingly. "You, too, Raph."

"Uh uh, Leo, no way," Raph protested. "I ain't marrying no one. Anyone. You know what I mean," he added when Don opened his mouth to point out his bad grammar.

"Me, neither," Don chortled. "Speaking of kids, Leo, have you two chosen a name?"

"Yeah, well, we've chosen a male and female name, just in case. We've also chosen his or her godparents."

"Who?" Don leaned forward slightly and put his hands together.

"Casey and April."

They had announced their own engagement at Leo's party five months ago, to the delight of everyone. Their rings were just like Leo and Beth's; gold bands with words. While Leo's said _Fisae_ and Beth's read _Eiladar_, theirs were _Love_ on both. They wanted something simple and meaningful.

In fact, April had told them that they would have a marriage ceremony at the old farmhouse, with a blind priest April had found in New York. The blind priest had promised to marry both pairs. He was told that Leo and his family had a terrible case of anthrophobia and also were inflicted with a case of scaly skin, caused by a gene defect. Leo was described as having the worst case, since he actually had scales. And Leo was affected by gigantism, which meant he was really big. His wings were going to be pinned to his shell so the priest didn't accidentally feel them.

"Wow." Raph whistled and smiled. "Good choice. So, what are the names?"

"That's for us to know and you to find out when we find out the sex," Leo teased, standing up and heading for the dojo. "I'm going to meditate for a bit. Call me for lunch."

Don nodded and turned on the TV, swiveling his chair to face it. Raph sat down on the floor next to him and rubbed his shoulders. Donnie had tested his wing strength, and the muscles were sore now.

"Want me to work with that?" Don offered. Raph nodded and moved in front of Donnie, who leaned down and placed his hands gently on Raph's shoulders. Raphael relaxed as he massaged the muscles.

**A/N: Alright, drop me a review about what you think. Thanks!**


	2. Good Night, Mikey

Mikey looked over as Beth waddled her way over to him

Mikey looked over as Beth waddled her way over to him. He smiled and extended a hand, leading her over to a chair.

"Here. You can chop up the veggies," he offered graciously, handing her a large knife, a bag of mixed vegetables, and a cutting board.

"Thanks." She leaned back and surveyed her stomach for a moment.

"What?" Mikey asked, putting a hand on her shoulder kindly. He kept an eye on the spaghetti to make sure the water boiled properly.

"It's kicking," Beth said. "See?" She pulled Mikey's hand down to the top of her belly. He could, indeed, feel the little one kicking against his hand. He couldn't tell if there were two or five digits.

"Beautiful," Mikey told her, looking back down at the little one. "Hey, dude or dudette, you can't kick Mommy so much," he scolded gently. "She's doing so much for you, it's kinda rude."

Another lurching kick hit Mike, who just smirked and snorted, shaking his head.

"Kids, eh?" Leo walked in and rested a hand on Beth's shoulder. "Donnie says he's got some stuff for me to do to help him, so please go ahead and have lunch without me."

"Okay, Leo." Mikey swept back to the stove top and poured the spaghetti in from the container, careful to keep from splashing himself.

Leo murmured softly to Beth for a minute before walking back out, his steps shaking the pots and pans gently. _They sound like church bells_, Mikey thought.

Mikey spent the rest of the day playing with Leo, off and on. He was never happier, except maybe when this all began and Leo looked only to him for comfort. Beth didn't seem jealous, in fact, she seemed glad to have Leo busy worrying about something else.

Mikey cracked up for almost an hour when he and Leo were playing video games. Leo was currently fighting some big demon and his character held his sword wrong. Leonardo stood up and gave him a _lecture_ that was a true beauty.

"Oooooh…" Mikey's ribs hurt from laughing so much. He could hardly sit straight and knew standing was out of the question.

Leo glared at him and stalked off, leaving his character standing, being buffeted by the demon. Mikey stood up shakily and fell back down, laughing even harder. Leonardo came back in with a smile on his face.

"What?" Mike managed to gasp. "Oooh, don't _do_ that!"

"His sword handling needed work," Leo said angrily. "If they insist on such good graphics, one would think they'd take the time to make the character's sword handling believable. Had that been me instead of the demon, that character would be dead."

"Bro, it's a video game," Raph snorted. "It's not supposed to be realistic." He came in with a large grin on his face, holding a video camera. "But, hey, if you wanna say that, fine. I got it all on tape."

"Give that to me!" Leo snapped, reaching forward. He chuckled, though, making the words sting less.

"Uh uh, Fearless. Donnie's gonna make us a DVD of "Leo's Best and Worst Moments". I've got loads of stuff. This will be the crowning jewel."

Mikey started laughing so hard Leo was scared he would break his ribs.

"Keep laughing, Mikey, I've got some good stuff of you."

"So, will you take up that job offer?" Leonardo asked, rubbing soothing circles on Mikey's shell to calm him down from his latest fit of laughter.

"I think so. Pay's good, at least. And they said I could just send it in by e-mail or regular mail. And they also said they'd keep the name confidential. Don't want Shredder putting two and two together and attacking a magazine company."

"Hm. Alright. I think it'll be a good way for you to express yourself," Leo nodded. "I might think about starting a comic book, about four brother mutant turtles."

"Cool!" Mikey leapt up and started babbling. "Could they be named like us? Except cooler! And the youngest could have a secret identity, Turtle Titan! And the hothead could be a lot like Raph, but even worse, if that's possible." Raph growled laughingly.

Leo held up his hands. "Whoa, Mikey, I'm just thinking. I like drawing, and it would help pay the bills."

"What bills?" Don laughed as he came in. "We get everything free."

"Well, not baby food and clothing," Raph pointed out with a snort. "At least, when the time comes."

"Yeah," Leo agreed. "And I would like to see what people think."

"Hm. I could find some stuff online," Don offered.

"Sure, thanks." Leo leaned back in the sofa and smiling as Beth waddled in with a sour look on her face.

"I'm gonna lie down for a while, while it's asleep," she said softly, glaring at Leo. "Your kid is as heavy as I am and has three times the energy!"

"Hey, Beth, he or she is your kid, too," Leo protested. "And they obviously do because you have to feed both of you and it doesn't need to do anything except annoy you. I wonder if he or she will have a shell. Donnie?"

"Hm. Plausible. I've checked, and it seems that turtle genes are – shall we say? – stronger, in a way. That's the best I can describe it. They override the human genes. In other words, the kid could be entirely turtle except that the mutagen would make it very intelligent, at least for a turtle."

Beth had left during Don's hypothesis. Mikey got onto all fours and walked around, peeping "Daddy! Mommy!" until Leo swooped him up in his wing.

"Mikey, you're too big to be a baby," Leonardo scolded.

"He acts like one," Raph snickered.

"Do not!" Mikey protested with a pout.

"Do too," Raph teased. "Anyway, see you guys later. Donnie, I'll leave this in the safe in your lab."

"Alright." Raphael walked out with the confirmation from the brainy turtle.

"He knows the combo?" Mikey asked, jealous. "Why can't I?"

"Because that's for the stuff we've put together to make funny videos with about you and Leo. You can't see it until we're done." Don sauntered out with a smile on his face. "And there's some funny stuff in there."

"Hey, Leo, will you help me pick the lock?" Mikey asked hopefully.

Leo tapped his head with one finger in reminder. "I can't, Mikey. You know that. The Ninja God would have my soul."

"It's just a little harmless lock-picking," Mikey protested.

"So is breaking into a vault, and it's not so harmless. Leave it be, Mikey. We'll see soon enough."

"Alright." Mikey pouted and wandered into the kitchen to have a late night snack. Leo looked at the clock and sighed, standing up and heading for his room. He was given Splinter's old room, since the old rat was comfortable where he was with April and Casey and Beth needed to be close to a bathroom. Not to mention, it was large enough to hold a little meditation corner for Leo, a small desk and chairs around it, and a bed big enough for the both of them.

They had cleaned out the south wall and put up a crib, courtesy of April from her mother's old stuff, and some stuffed animals around it. The blankets were hand-me-downs from the dumpster, but they were clean and stitched into almost-new condition. Donnie had set up a small noise-maker that played soft lullabies, remote controlled from right next to the parents' bed. Raph had put up pictures – very well done and beautiful – of the family. Mikey had painted the crib with baby blue paint he found, and added little stars on the dark blue ceiling above in gold. It looked ready for a recipient, except that the baby was still with Beth.

Beth was currently lying dead asleep on their bed. Leo lay down on his plastron next to her, throwing a wing out to cup his mate and son/daughter towards him.

Mikey peeked in to find them in such a way. He smiled appreciatively and quietly backed out again, closing the door soundlessly. He wandered over to Raph's room and found the hothead dead asleep as well, snoring so loudly that Mikey was afraid the noise, when he opened the door, would wake everyone in the house.

Donnie was sitting in front of his computer and greeted Mikey when the youngest turtle came in quietly.

"Everyone's asleep," Mikey reported. "Beth's wiped."

"Hm. Check this out." Don brought up a picture on the screen. It looked like a black and white photo of something blurry. Donnie pressed a button on the keyboard and the screen started moving. "The ultrasound," he explained.

Don had been able to build an ultrasound machine and use it successfully on Beth. Though they still didn't know the gender – Don had just used it to make sure no egg was forming – it had shown them that Leo's kid was definitely shelled and had a plastron and beak. He or she also had five digits on the feet and hands, but had scales on the tops of its arms, the front legs, and shoulder and neck.

Leo had told Donnie to shut it off before it turned towards them to show gender, saying that they wished it to be a surprise.

"Very beautiful," Mikey whispered as the video ended.

"Indeed. A perfect match between human and turtle/dragon DNA. Raph and I are going to use that in the video. Wanna see the beginning?"

"Yeah!"

Don turned on another video, which only played for five seconds. A title screen came on and read, "SUCKER!"

"Hey!" Mikey protested.

"Like we said, you have to wait," Donnie chuckled, exiting all of the programs and standing up with a stretch. "I'm going to bed. You should, too. Leo'll have my head if I stay up late, and he'll have your tail if you do."

"I'm going to bed."

Mikey wandered into his room and closed the door. Klunk meowed from the floor as he crawled under the covers. The tabby jumped onto his shell and lay down comfortably.

"Good night, Klunk," Mikey whispered. Klunk purred and Mikey slept.


	3. Fight

"Morning, Mikey," Leo greeted, coming into the turtle's room with a knock

**A/N: Big thanks to Puldoh for all of her help. She really helped me get this going. I couldn't think of something to do. So, this is co-done by her. Thanks for reading, and thanks for the help, Puldoh! :)**

"Morning, Mikey," Leo greeted, coming into the turtle's room with a knock. Mikey groaned and rolled over; he didn't want to get up so early. The orange-masked turtle peeked at the clock and saw that it was only a few minutes after seven.

"Ugh… What's wrong with you?" he asked. "It's only seven on a Saturday. I wanna sleep in!"

"No can do, Mikey. You and I are heading out for an excursion to the junkyard."

"Junkyard!" Mikey was out of bed faster than Leo when cold water was poured on him. He quickly brushed his teeth, gobbled down breakfast, and stood prancing at the door ten minutes later. Leonardo, still recovering from the change of mind, wandered over and smiled at him.

"Just kidding."

"That's not funny!" Mikey pouted. "I wanna go anyway!"

"Fine, fine, I'll take you. Don, I'm heading out with Mike!" Leo called back into the lair.

A muffled, "Shut up, will ya?" came from Raph's room, but Donnie appeared from the lab with a nod.

"Alright, but be careful, Leo," Don advised. "You're still a little weak from loss of blood."

"Agh, Donnie, if you weren't't such a needle-happy leech I would have all of my blood," Leo whined teasingly. He rubbed his elbow, where a small Band-Aid covered the needle's entry point.

Mikey opened the door and shot out into the sewers with his skateboard. Leo grinned and followed. He liked roller blades the most, like Raph, and had his own pair that Don had painted blue and added blue wheels to. They played tag for a while as Leo led them through many tunnels to a good spot to come up at, just under the junkyard. They had to be careful; they couldn't't risk being seen.

Leo smiled as he stopped under the entrance to the sewers and took off his skates. Mikey hopped off his board and put it against the wall before pushing up on the metal cover. It lifted easily, and he jumped into the dark outside. It was still just dawning in the above world, and they flitted from shadow to shadow until they found a likely-looking junk pile. Leonardo shifted through lazily, mostly spreading his wings and gathering some heat. Mikey dug through eagerly, finding many useful things that Don might like.

He had an armful by the time Leo said they had to leave. His mood light, Mikey dropped back into the sewers and stepped onto his board. Leo offered to take half the load, which Mikey was grateful for since it was hard to balance with a lot of stuff in his hands.

"Race ya home!" Leo joked, standing up from strapping on his blades. He took off with a complaining Mikey following.  
Mikey smiled, liking that he was finally spending time with Leo again. He glided through the sewers with a smile on his face,

"Hey Leo, you wanna check out some drawings I did?" he asked hopefully.

Leo smiled back, liking that idea. "Sure Mikey, lets get home and we can check them out." He liked seeing the smile on Mikey's face, and loved his Kalian dearly. He had been feeling guilty about ignoring Mikey for awhile there, he had forgotten about his little Kalian. He fully intended to see the drawings when they arrived at the lair.

Arriving at the lair, they greeted their brothers, smiling and enjoying the delighted look on Don's face when he was handed the things they had found. Leo saw Beth arrive back home and went to greet her, kissing her neck gently. She smiled and spoke softly and chatted with each other, Leo following Beth as they walked to their rooms.

Mikey watched as Leo greeted Beth when she had arrived back home, and saw them walk to their rooms. Mikey smiled at his love struck brother, and went to his room. "I'm coming, Mikey."

Gathering up the pictures he had taken weeks to draw and perfect, he laid them out nicely on his bed, in the order he wanted to show them in. He smiled big since he was excited about showing his Kavara the pictures he had drawn of him and Beth. Of Leo with the family. He had noticed though, that he had to draw Leo as big as he was, and Mikey was so small compared to his Kavara, that he looked like a chibi.

Anyway, he had neatly arranged the pictures he had wanted to share.

And Leo popped in, smiling and looking at Mikey. "So where are the pictures?"

Mikey grinned, pointing to his desk as he bounced over. He knew Leo would come; after all, he can't lie. He showed him the assortment of pictures, smiling when he heard praise from Leo, "These are really good Mike. I didn't know you could draw so well."

Mikey went and pulled out a small canvas he had sketched and painted, and showed Leo. He could see the pride in Leo's eyes when he had seen the picture. "Do you like it Leo?" he asked, his smile huge and his eyes sparkling.

Leo smiled gently, proud of his little Kalian, "You did well Kalian, I am proud of you."  
Mikey beamed.

Leo looked around Kalian's room, frowning at the mess. Putting the canvas picture down, he turned to his Kalian, knowing he was about to ruin the moment, but he had to say it. He hated clutter. He sighed, "I have asked you to clean your room yesterday, why have you not done it?"

Mikey glanced at his room, remembering briefly Leo's request to clean it, but had forgotten. "Sorry Kavara, I forgot, we started playing video games, remember?"

Leo remembered, smiling, "Yeah, that's alright then. Can you clean your room today then?"

Mikey sighed dramatically, "Sure Kavara, no problem."

Leo started to head out, but turned back quickly, "I really liked your artwork Kalian. It's wonderful."

Mikey smiled, his heart radiating with pride. He loved making Leo proud and happy. When Leo left, he stayed behind, basking in the warmth glow he had received from his Kavara.

Putting on some music, he started bobbing to it, singing along with it, as he slowly danced around his room, cleaning up.

Leo left Mikey's room, feeling a lot better about his relationship with his little brother. He went to his room, seeing Beth sitting on the bed, a smile on her face. He walked over, and knelt down in front of her, and gave her a gentle kiss.

Beth smiled, kissing back. Breaking the kiss, Leo placed his hand on Beth's stomach, feeling the little kicks the baby was making. He smiled, "He or she is going to be a great little ninja."

Beth sighed, shaking her head lightly, "Yes, he or she is going to be. Has to really, can't really grow up and not know how to be a ninja, right?"

Leo laughed, heartily. He nodded, "Yes, he or she can't be. And inkling of what the baby is going to be yet?"

Beth stood up, holding Leo's hand, "You ask me that every week Leo. I told you, not all parents know. I don't know, honestly."

Leo walked with Beth, following her to the living room, discussing their future.

Later that evening, Mikey and Beth were preparing supper. Beth was washing some vegetables for Mikey to cut up and talking with the youngest turtle.

"So you had a good time with Leo today?" she asked, smiling as she finished cleaning the lettuce.

Mikey grinned, "It was awesome Beth. We played games, and went out. We even played tag, which was cool. And he helped me bring all this stuff home…" and babbled on for like 10 minutes all the things that he and his Kavara did.

Beth smiled indulgently. She had learned from Leo how to tune Mikey out sometimes when he babbled, but found herself listening when he described playing tag. "What's Ninja tag?"

Mikey beamed, smiling and still chopping, not really paying attention to what he was doing, "It's like tag, but Ninja style. It's so much fun, and harder too. But with only two turtles, it's kind of hard…anyway, -" he explained, starting to talk about when they got back.

Beth smiled, she had just finished washing the green peppers and mushrooms and was placing it on the cutting board where Mikey was chopping when she felt a sudden flare of pain slice through her hand, and she cried out in pain.

Mikey's eyes were wide and frightened, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry Beth, are you okay? Lemme see," he said, taking Beth's hand gently, grabbing some paper towels and gently wiped away the blood that was forming from the slightly deep 3 inch cut grazing the top part of her right hand.

Beth whimpered, it hurt and stung, but she could see it wasn't bad. It had mostly surprised her.

But then Leo ran in, anger and fear on his face. And his wings fluttered as he descended toward them. "What happed? Are you okay, Beth?" he asked frantically, pushing Mikey aside in his worry, taking Beth's hand and checking her injury.

Beth yelped as Leo examined the injured hand, and Beth could see the anger and fear in Leo's eyes. Mikey was talking, his words fast and frantic. "We were just talking, and I was cutting the veggies. She put them down, and I accidentally cut her, I'm so sorry Beth!" he said, tears in his eyes.

Beth was about to open her mouth to accept the apology and say she shouldn't have put her hand near the chopping block, when Leo erupted, anger in his eyes as he glared at Mikey.

"How could you be so irresponsible?" Leonardo thundered, his wings opening and closing angrily. His tail swished furiously. "You could have really hurt Beth!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Mikey whimpered, backing up but Leo advanced again. Don and Raph came in just then, and seeing the bleeding Beth, Don hurried over to her and removed her from the room. Raph grabbed Leo's tail and yanked it, hard. In surprise and pain, Leonardo barked shortly.

Mikey took that opportunity to run. He didn't hear Raph and Leo calling him back, he could only hear the pounding in his heart.

_I hurt Beth, I hurt her, how could I be so stupid?_ Mike asked himself with rage. He opened the door and slammed it as he ran into the cold, dark sewers. He kept running, kicking himself in the butt so many times he could actually feel it tingle.

Back at the lair, Raph was yelling at Leo now, who was agitating. Beth was hurt, but his Kalian was outside, alone, and probably in danger. He made up his mind and pushed past his littler brother. Raphael snorted at him as he disappeared into Don's lab. Don was sent out a moment later, his face indignant as he stumbled a little. Raph caught him and rolled his eyes in the direction of Leo and Beth.

"I think the RTS is still in him," Don whispered. "Or his instincts for Beth's safety are dangerously potent."

"Wouldn't surprise me. I read a book on dragons the other day. It said that the male will often protect the female from herself by biting off her claws."

"Good thing Beth doesn't have claws," Don said humorlessly. "But Leo is getting too possessive and protective. Take him out to look for Mikey, Raph, or he'll never leave her side again."

Leo came out a moment later, his wings arched high over his head. Don recognized the slight beeping from his shell that signaled he was dangerously stressed.

"Leo, let's go look for Mikey. Come on, bro. Beth'll be fine. She's in Donnie's hands now. He can help her if need be."

Raph continued to talk to Leo, backing up slightly. Leo snorted amusedly, almost, but caught himself in time. Instead, he lowered his wings and opened the main door to the sewers. He sniffed and then picked up one foot and was off like a lightning bolt. Raph sighed and followed, closing the door softly behind him.

Leonardo led them both with his nose, following the salt and junk food smell that accompanied Mikey everywhere.


	4. Friend or Foe, Who's to Know?

Mikey ran until he got to the river

Mikey ran until he got to the river. It briefly flashed into his mind to throw himself in, but he knew he would survive anyway. He was a turtle, after all.

"Why did I do that?" he whispered, crouching and watching the water lap at him gently. Mikey had the urge to jump in a swim away, out to the ocean, where he could float all day long without a care in the world.

"Except for sharks, humans, and other meat eaters," a voice said coldly behind him. Mike whirled to find a human facing him.

"Wh-Who are you?" he asked, a finger rest on his nunchucks just in case.

"A friend, perhaps a foe, who are we to know?" another voice asked. A similar human stepped out of the shadows. "You may call me friend, for I am here to mend."

"And I am a friend, perhaps, if you are truly trustworthy. Of course, seeing what you look like, it must be difficult to trust me. Can I trust you?"

"That depends," Mikey answered, peering around suspiciously. "Is anyone going to jump out at me?"

"Not that I can account for," the first one answered. The two humans were male, Mikey realized, as they stepped forward a little farther. "I trust you enough to stand before you unarmed. Can you trust me, at least hear me out?"

"I suppose, but not alone. It is not my decision to make if I can help you."

"You are a free being, are you not? Why do you worry, little turtle spot?" The second man, shorter and younger, smiling brightly.

"Do you always talk in rhymes?" Mikey asked curiously.

"Sometime yes, sometimes no, who are you to know?" He giggled and suddenly flipped onto his hands, staring up at Mikey.

"I am Silan," the other stated. "And this is my little brother, Slinan."

"Silan and Slinan. Got it. I'm Mikey, Michelangelo." Mike bowed a bit and faced the older one. "Why aren't you screaming?"

"I do not find your appearance startling," the elder shrugged. "I am not from Earth Sol, you see. I am from another dimension. We heard that the most recent Battle Nexus Champion and his brothers lived here. We also saw his statue. Do you know who and where he is?"

"Find a friend, indeed, in our greatest time of need," the smaller one chirped.

"So, if you're not human, what are you?"

"We are what your world would call aliens," the older explained, shooting his brother a look. The younger one hopped back up and landed on his feet again, smiling brightly still. "But that is incorrect. We are the equivilant of humans, we live on a planet called H'Trea."

"That spells "Earth" backwards."

"Yes, an interesting things to see," the smaller one noticed. "And it might lead to the key."

"What is the key?"

"One of you four… But we know not which one. May we speak to your brothers?" the elder asked courteously.

"That's kinda… Not possible right now. I'm kinda running away for a little while. I hurt Beth. She's my eldest brother's girlfriend and carrying his baby. He's kinda pissed… Really pissed." Mikey winced and looked down; the ground was suddenly very interesting to him.

"Why did you hurt Beth?" the smaller one asked, a serious expression on his face. "Does she still draw breath?"

"Yeah, I just nicked her hand with a knife while we were making dinner. It was an accident… But Leo doesn't know that. At least, he didn't act like it. He's… Changed. Just… Could you come back? Tomorrow, maybe?"

"No, we have searched high and low for you. We _must_ speak to your brothers if you cannot promise help."

"Mikey!" a voice cried out from above. A shape was seen against the stars. "Raph, I found him!"

Leo landed with a ground-shaking thump, facing the two "humans" with his wings open pretty far. Raph landed next to him, dwarfed but still formidable. Mikey peeked around Leo's wings to see the two humans.

"I take it Michelangelo is your brother?" the eldest asked coolly.

"Who wants to know?" Raph spat.

"I am Silan, and this is Slinan. We are brothers. We have been searching for you across many worlds. The Daimyo helped us find you. We must speak to your family. We need help from the Battle Nexus Champion and his brothers. I have spoken with the Champion Michelangelo already. He told me that he is not in a position to grant us help. Are you the leader?"

"I am the head of the family for the moment," Leo nodded, closing his wings slightly. "My name is Leonardo." He bowed formally, which the other two were hasty to return. "This is my second-in-command, Raphael. And Michelangelo, who you've already met."

"There is a fourth. Donatello, was it?"

"Yes."

"Friends around, foes around," the littler one suddenly squeaked. "We must hurry below ground!"

Leo sniffed the air cautiously before nodded and making a quick decision.

"Raph, grab Mikey. You two head to the lair. I'll take these two by warehouse and blind fold them. Go!" he ordered when Raph hesitated. The hothead snorted and grabbed Mikey's waist as he opened his wings. He beat them and lifted off slowly, the extra weight clearly dragging him down. However, he managed to land on a roof and dropped Mikey before they ran off, disappearing.

Leo pulled two his bandana off and tore it in two. He then tied it tightly around the humans' heads and picked them up with his arms.

"Hold on and do not try to squirm," Leo instructed.

"Yes, Dragon Lord," the eldest whispered, feeling his wings and then fingering the scales on Leo's arm. Leo gulped down his questions and took to the wing easily. _These two hardly weigh anything!_ Leo thought to himself, surprised.

When he landed in front of the warehouse, he quickly ducked inside and only then did he call up the elevator. Once they were inside, he removed the men's masks and tucked the cloth back in his belt. He'd fix his mask later; he had a spare for now. However, the bright light in the lair would hurt. He winced in apprehension and shut his eyes tightly, throwing an arm over his face as the door opened again and light bombarded him.

To his surprise, he felt Donnie approach him. The scientist tied another of his black-eye masks over his head and Leo opened his eyes to find Mikey and Raph sitting with the newcomers in the living room. Donnie smiled when Leo thanked him and then ushered his brother to the living room.

"So… Let's get this started," Leo said, gazing at his three brothers and then at the humans. "Donnie, these two are Silan and Slinan."

"Well met, Donatello," the youngest smiled. "Wielder of the Bo."

"How did you know that?" Raph asked, suspiciously.

"It is his job to know," the eldest explained. "He's the technician and know-it-all of our team. You could say he is Donatello's counterpart."

"Not possible," Don insisted. "Alternative realities don't exist."

"You just haven't discovered them. Slinan?"

Slinan stood up as Silan did and made a quick gesture. He muttered a word that Leo recognized from his lessons with Usagi about portal openings. It was a word that meant, "Change me back to my original form".

A flash of bright light later, two turtles just like Don and Raph stood in front of the brothers. Leonardo hissed gently, not liking this new development.

"Sorry, guys, but we had to hide ourselves from our enemies," the eldest, Raphael's twin, explained. "I am known as Master Raphael. This is Professor Donatello."

"Cool!" Mikey exploded, bouncing in his seat. "Do I have a twin?"

"Yes. He was left in our hideout, though. We didn't want to risk anything happening to all of us."

"_Master_ Raphael?" Raph asked, curious.

"I have graduated to Ninja Master rank," Master Raphael explained. "Do you have a rat mentor?"

"Master Splinter," Leo said curtly.

"Ah. Our is actually named High Sensei Splinter, but I can see that both are the same. Well, in the sense that I am the same as Raphael."

"So… Does Leo have a twin?" Mikey asked excitedly.

The two visibly winced and Master Raphael glared at Professor Donatello until the turtle shook his head and snorted slightly.

"Yes and no," Master Raphael answered.

"What do you mean?" Leo asked cautiously.

"Our leader was named Leonardo, too," the professor said quietly. "But…"

"He died."

Leo blinked and Mikey gasped. Raph looked sharply at his counterpart, and Donnie inhaled quickly.

"No, he didn't," Professor Donatello interrupted.

"Yes, he _did_," Master Raphael insisted, his voice hard. However, Leo saw how his temple twitched, just like Raph's when the hothead was in a state near to tears.

"Please excuse my brother," Donatello said hurriedly. "He died, and yet he didn't. Let me explained. Please, sit down," he asked, pushing Master Raphael down harshly. "It all began a few Earth Sol years ago…"


	5. History Revealed, Friends All Along

"We were on a training run one night

"We were on a training run one night. Leonardo was leading, like usual. High Sensei was sick and resting at home. I thought it would be a good idea for us to get outta there for a while. You know, run our energy off. Michelangelo was getting very depressed, being kept inside. He's a free spirit, can't live without sunshine."

"Are you known to the humans in your world?" Leo asked curiously.

"Yes, and so is… The rest of our family," Donatello said quietly. "I will explain later. For now, please listen."

"Sorry," Leo apologized.

"Don't worry about it. Anyway, we suddenly passed a group of Blue Monkeys. I guess those are the equivalent of your Purple Dragons. They were robbing a ware house. Leonardo says that we should barge right in, guns blasting. Raphael disagreed."

"That's a first," Mikey muttered. "It's usually the other way around. I'm the hyper one, Don's the smart one, Raph's the hothead, and Leo's the ninjistsu-or-death dude. Sorry," he added when Raph glared at him. "Go on."

"I ended the argument saying that we should check to see what they were stealing. Raphael and Michelangelo went up for the scouting run and came back. The usual; guns for their friends, called the Hand in our world."

"They're the Foot here," Don said.

"Interesting. Anyway, Leonardo said that we should blow them all up. I thought that was a good idea." Donnie shrugged at the looks on everyone's faces. Leo glanced down apprehensively, dreading what was coming next. "I rigged the place… And it blew like a mushroom cloud.

"That's when the trouble started. Leonardo kept getting deadlier, he trained at all times. He was surviving on three hours of sleep and a hell of a lot of false sugar highs and caffine shots. He was practically a coffee addict by the time I caught on. I only did because he was always drinking a cup of it, even during practice. High Sensei confronted him on it.

"Leonardo went berserk. He said that we couldn't live without him "taking care of every damn broken finger" if I'm to quote him. He got out of control. Thankfully, I was working on some tranquilizers when I heard the commotion. I just barely saved Michelangelo from Leonardo's katanas."

Mikey looked at Leo, whose winged opened slightly as he turned away for a moment. Everyone could tell that this tale really bothered him, but he faced the two new turtles again and motioned for Donatello to continue. The professor nodded.

"I drugged him heavily and we took him to the hospital for mental treatment. I visited him everyday, but he never got better. Kept saying things like, "Darkwing's allies, all abroad, must keep them going on," and "Inhibitor, Inhabitors, why me?" We didn't know what he was saying."

"Darkwing… That was the name of a certain mind creature that took me over a few months ago. It left me like this. I used to look like Donnie, a little taller but not a giant," Leo said. "I grew wings, scales, a tail, and horns. And I grew to this size."

"Well, that makes some sense. Leonardo was always flapping his arms like wings.

"Anyway, he was busted out one day. Whoever did it blew up the whole hospital. We found his shell and left leg… But nothing else. We met again, a few Earth weeks ago. I was out getting some supplies and visiting the family. He came out of nowhere and nearly gunned me down."

Master Raphael put a hand on Professor Donatello's shoulder comfortingly as the bright turtle faltered.

"He was… A machine. Only his head was visible; the rest was all metal. He was dragged away by the police but escaped again. We need help, and I found out from the Daimyo that your four would be our best bet."

"You left out something," Raphael said quietly. "Before he was taken by insanity, he got married. To a woman named Beth. Their child… Was born a few days ago. We think he's going to attack her. We brought her here, too."

"They are welcome here, as is Michelangelo," Leo said hurriedly. "Raph and I will come with you." Master Raphael nodded and stood up, absently tugging his red bandana tighter around his head. Professor Donatello sat still, fingering the purple ends of his mask absently. Donnie smiled and grabbed his hand before leading the sad turtle off to his room to lie down and rest. Mikey and Don then disappeared to get more rooms ready.

Beth came out at that moment, a hand resting on her swollen stomach. Leo crossed to her hurriedly and kissed her soundly, putting a hand on the side of her face when he moved back.

"What?" Beth asked, staring at Master Raphael. "Who's that?"

"That's a friend, Beth, his name is Master Raphael. Raph and I are going to pick up his brother and my counterpart's wife and child. Donnie'll fill you in. Gotta go."

Leo and Raph hustled Master Raphael out quickly, the larger turtle picking up the counterpart of his brother and both taking wing. They landed near an old, abandoned house in the slum district.

"Beth? Michelangelo?" Master Raphael called softly.

"Raphael?" A turtle much like Michelangelo but without a smile came out. When he saw who was with his brothers, he stopped and stared in shock. "That… Those are the brothers?"

"Dragon Lord Leonardo and Raphael," Master Raphael said.

"Dragon Lord?" Leo asked, confused. He decided now was as good a time as any.

"I'll explain later. Is Beth safe?" Raphael asked.

"Yeah. I'll get her." Michelangelo disappeared again and came out with a human woman. She looked like an older version of Beth, like Beth's mother Mary.

"Leonardo…?" The woman gasped at the look of her husband's counterpart and then at her husband's counterpart's brother's appearance. "You are… Winged?"

"Through a mental accident for me, Miss," Leo said hurriedly. "And Raph was bitten by a vampire."

"A vampire?"

"Explanations later, we've gotta get somewhere safe. Some of this dimension's Hand have spotted me. They went to get reinforcements," Michelangelo said. "Can you carry two?"

"I could carry this version of Beth and her kid," Raph offered.

"I will take you two," Leo said, grabbing the two turtles in a bear hug and lifting his wings. Raph held Beth in his arms, bridal style. The little bundle she now held in her arms was moving slightly.

They took off and soon were back at the warehouse. Leo got them into the elevator and sent it down quickly. When they got out, Beth and Michelangelo gasped at their surroundings and Mikey quickly towed Michelangelo off to interrogate him further. Beth and Beth met.

"So… How are we going to tell you apart, verbally?" Raph asked. "You have the same name."

"Call me by my middle name, Sky," Leo's husband, pregnant Beth, said indifferently. "May I see your child?" she asked her counterpart. Shyly, Beth handed Sky the little bundle. Leo looked over his wife-to-be's shoulder and smiled.

The little guy – it was male – had a shell and plastron, but five fingers and toes. His beak was soft and rubbery, much like a human mouth, and he had ear holes. His head was covered with a bright mane of gold hair, just like his mother's. His eyes were the same deep blue as Leo's.

"He's cute," Leo laughed, offering a large finger to the child. He grabbed it and sucked it with a vengeance. "Hey, little one, I don't need you mauling my finger."

"He's teething," Beth said apologetically. "He's biting everything now. I'm sorry. Is he hurting you?"

"He can't put a scratch on my scales, Mrs. Beth."

"Oh, please call me Beth," she said, blushing as he bowed to her awkwardly, his finger still being mouthed by the teeth-less turtle.

"I am Leo. My brothers are Raph, Don or Donnie, and Mike or Mikey. Master Raphael and Professor Donatello will be called by their full names, if that's okay?" Master Raphael nodded. "Good. Less confusion."

Sky handed the child back, Leo gingerly removing his finger.

"What's his name?" Leo asked.

"I named him after his favorite uncle. His name is Ralph." Master Raphael chuckled and tickled the little one, picking him up from his mother when she handed him to his uncle.

"I've been standing in for Leonardo," Master Raphael explained quietly to Leo. "I love the little guy anyway. I hate to pry, but can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Shoot what?" Master Raphael asked, confused. Leo laughed for a minute before answering.

"It means "go ahead"," Sky explained.

"Alright… Sky, is your child of Leo's line?"

"Yes, he or she is."

"You do not know the sex?" Beth asked, startled.

"We want it to be a surprise. We'll learn what name to choose in about three weeks, give or take. Leo, I'm going to go lie down. Your kid is kicking me."

"He's yours, too!" Leo objected as his wife waddled away. He turned around with a loving sigh. "Don't ask me why, but I love her."

"Do not throw it away as my husband did," Beth said seriously. "It hurts more than yourself."

"I could never push _anyone_ in my family away," Leo stated quietly. "Let me tell you our history, so you know something about us. I only ask that you do the same, Master Raphael, if you would be inclined."

"I would, Leo."

"Alright. I'm not much of a story teller, but here goes nothing."


	6. Sparring

When Leo was done, both had moved into the dojo

When Leo was done, both had moved into the dojo. Master Raphael looked around with appreciation as Leo explained their history and gave him a tour. Beth and Sky were in Leo and Sky's room. Raph, Don, Mikey, Michelangelo, and Donatello were also taking a tour, but Mikey and Michelangelo were still playing video games. They had started when Mikey had been showing off his collection gleefully.

"Your history is incredible, Leo," Master Raphael said. He winced slightly as he heard Mikey shout that his counterpart was cheating. "I hope we are not infringing too much on your life."

"No, not at all. Mikey's glad to have a same partner, even if your Michelangelo is more serious he's still considered the youngest in your family, if I have been observing correctly. Are you nineteen?"

"Heavens, no!" Master Raphael laughed. "I'm thirty four, Donatello and Michelangelo are thirty even. Leonardo would be forty three this year."

"Wow. You are really spaced out in ages," Leo observed. "We're all nineteen, though Mikey's the baby of the family. Your Leonardo was really older than you, huh?"

"Yes. Let me tell you our story.

"We were mutated in the ocean. Really, we are pet shop turtles that got loose. Leonardo was mutated first. He began living in the sewers and chanced across me a few years later. I had eaten some seaweed with the mutagen in it. Leonardo had it poured on his by mean humans. He raised me, since he was nine years old and very mature. We found High Sensei after that. He began training us, though Leonardo was skeptical about the use of ninjistsu.

"Anyway, we were out when we found Donatello and Michelangelo. They had been living in a tidal pool while they mutated. We fished them out and took them to the lair. Michelangelo was really small still; he was mutating. Donatello had been watching over him.

"It was a big tidal pool," Raphael explained when Leo pulled a face. "We grew up like that together. I bonded mostly with Donatello. Leonardo didn't bond with anyone. He was a rogue ever since Rose attacked him and nearly killed him.

"Is there a Foot head ninja or something?" he asked Leo.

"Yeah. Karai."

"Rose would be Karai's counterpart. Leonardo thought they had something. He tried to bring her over, and almost succeeded, but Rose's father caught them together one night and nearly killed them both. Leonardo was never the same after that."

"I'm sorry to hear that. It sounds like my counterpart had a rough life. We were all found by Splinter at the same time."

"I notice that you don't use his title," Master Raphael pointed out.

"We've grown a bit distant. He's not exactly our father anymore. That's why I said I'm head of the family."

"Well, I am not one to tell you what to do, but it sounds like you should have a separate lair," Master Raphael noted as a shriek came from another room. It sounded like Mikey, and Raph's roar of outrage later was a testament to the fact.

"So… Do you wanna spar?" Leo asked carefully, eyeing his opponent.

"I would like to see how different our styles are," Master Raphael noted. "And how you have coped with your secondary mutation."

"I would be happy to show you. Do you have a pair of practice weapons? I can lend you some."

"Thank you, we didn't bring ours. Who would need practice weapons in the real world?" Master Raphael laughed.

"Indeed. Well, are bokken good for you?"

"Wonderful. I have trained in all ninja weapons. I took up the Sai first, though, and I see that your Raphael uses them almost exclusively. After Leonardo left, I studied katana furiously. Eventually, I decided that my weapon of choice were the Sai, not the katana. Too long, too impersonal, for me."

"I like them," Leo stated calmly, taking out the wooden swords and handing Master Raphael one of the pair. "So… Let us begin." They tapped swords and bowed to each other deeply. Leo noticed that Raph, Mikey, Sky, Beth, Donnie, Donatello, and Michelangelo were watching.

Silently, Raphael attacked, bringing his bokken around speedily. Leo blocked it and pushed, forcing the smaller turtle back hurriedly. Raphael jumped and swung his wooden stave down at Leo's armored head, but Leo caught the sword on his own and punched backwards with his horns.

Raphael twisted away, ripping his weapons from Leo's grasp, and swung around to block the next attack. _Leo's really strong,_ Raphael gasped as he was forced back again. _And if I'm any judge, he's holding most of himself back._

"Just out of curiosity, how hard can you hit?" Raphael asked as he danced away from another hacking blow. Leo cocked his head to the side and put up his bokken to catch Raphael's attack.

"His punching average is about eighty times that of a humans'," Don called from the doorway. "But right now, I'd say about three times his normal."

"Damn," Raphael muttered, impressed. He turned another strike and saw his opening. In a quick move taught to him by the greatest ninja master in the multi-verse, he swung his blade and knocked Leo's away.

Then he followed through, landing a punch to Leo's plastron. He gasped in pain and pulled his hand back.

"Are you alright?" Leo asked immediately, stepping forward.

"Stings, but I'll be fine. Didn't expect your plastron to be so hard." Raphael shook his fist out and winced as the bruises started forming.

"It is metal," Leo joked, thumping his chest. "Hard stuff. Call it a draw?"

"Hell no, Leo. I'm just about to wipe the floor with you!" Raph grinned from the sidelines and Mikey whooped. Raphael faced off again, and Leo looked hesitant but gathered up his bokken anyway.

"That was a really neat move, by the way," Leo noted as he launched another attack. "Who taught you that?"

"The greatest ninja master in the multi-verse," Raphael grunted, parrying a blow and lashing out with a foot. It connected and hit Leo's sensitive wing. The larger turtle winced and swept his wings back, out of the way. They truly towered over him, filling the half of the room he was in as Raphael back flipped away. "His name was High Order Master Logarth."

"Logarth, eh?" Leo asked, smiling as Raphael dove forward for another attack which was countered easily. "I'll have to look him up. That move was pretty cool."

While Leo was talking, they were still battling. Raphael realized that there was no way he'd win this thing honorably and whistled the three-note blast that signaled for help.

With a whoop, Michelangelo and Donatello dove into the fray, surrounding Leo. Raph, Donnie, and Mikey laughed and stayed where they were. They knew that Leo could wipe the floor with them if he tried.

Instead, Mikey cheered Leo on as the three brothers attacked.

Raphael disarmed Leo and gave Donatello the bokken. Michelangelo, true to his counterpart's form, teased Leo as the hyper turtle bounced all around his opponent. Leo grabbed at air until he realized that Michelangelo was just trying to tire him out early in the game. Instead, he flung open both wings like a net. Michelangelo, already in the air, squealed in fright as the wings caught him. They shut with a snap, tight against Leo's shell. The once-air-born turtle was squirming in the membrane, trying to get out of his prison. Leo faced the next two with a smirk.

"One down, two to go," he snickered, stepping forward. Raphael and Donatello attacked, scoring some hits on the larger turtle that Leo barely felt through his scales. Donatello was put out of commission when Leo grabbed him in his right wing, the one not holding Michelangelo, and pinned him down against his shell.

Raphael and Leo faced off, both breathing heavily. Raphael attacked again, going at a blinding speed. Leo put his arms up and blocked most of the hits. Finally, he lashed out with his tail and caught Raphael around the waist. Carefully, he brought Raphael's feet off the ground and looked at him.

"I yield," Raphael laughed, pushing at Leo's tail. "Let me and my brothers go." Leo's wings and tail opened and all three brothers fell to the floor. Mikey and Raph snickered at the looks on their faces.

"You do deserve your position as head of the family," Master Raphael noted, standing up and bowing. Leo did the same. "In my world, you would be considered a Master of Ninjistsu, and that is saying something."

"Thank you, my friend. You deserve your title and position." Leo bowed to his brothers. "Well fought, my elders."

"Speaking of "elders", Leo, you had better oil your wings soon," Don called from the other side of the dojo. "They're looking kinda dry. I'm still fixing the machine, so you'll have to ask Mikey to do it."

"I'll help," Master Raphael offered genially. Michelangelo nodded, as did Mikey. "If you show us what to do."

"It's easy," Mikey scoffed. "Just a long process. And it can be fun. Leo purrs sometimes."

"I was unaware that we could do that," Donatello put in, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Vocal chords changed, did they?"

"Yeah. So when he growls, you wanna hide in your shell," Raph joked. "Hell, let's make it a party and I'll join in."

"You guys really don't have to. Mikey can do it," Leo said, smiling evilly at his little brother.

"We'd like to help anyway, and it'd give us something to do."

"I'll help my counterpart get the machine he mentioned back up and running," Donatello proffered, walking away. Donnie nodded in thanks and led the way to his lab. Leo had broken the table when he last lay on it; he was still embarrassed even though everyone said it was fine.

Sky and Beth headed off to Leo and Beth's room to talk. Beth wanted to know what it was like to have a husband by one's side during pregnancy, and Sky wanted to know what it was like raising a turtle-human hybrid infant.

"Let's get this show on the road," Leo sighed, walking out. The only place large enough for him to lie down and fully spread his wings was the living room.

"You know, we're really not a show," Mikey joked. "So it'd be like, "Let's get this team on the ground," get it?"

"Not really." Everyone answered, even Michelangelo.

"Oh."


	7. Oiling

"Alright, Leo, lie down and I'll tell them what to do," Mikey ordered

"Alright, Leo, lie down and I'll tell them what to do," Mikey ordered. He and Raph and their counterparts had cleared away the living room floor. Leo knelt gently before lying down, spreading out his wings to their fullest.

Raphael whistled in appreciation as the full fifteen-foot length was spread out before him. Leo chuckled and put his hands under his chin.

Mikey grabbed a bucket of cloths from his room and distributed them. "You're gonna use these to wipe the oil around. Make sure it soaks in; don't let it sit there too long, though, and don't just skim the surface. About three seconds is good for one area that's covered by the cloth."

"Where is the oil?" Raphael asked, looking around.

"Right here," Raph answered, putting a hand on Leo's wing bones and squeezing. Everyone saw the small amount of oil that oozed out slowly. "You squeeze with the cloth, get it wet, and then rub it down. Don't press too hard, but enough to let it penetrate the membrane. Master Raphael, would you like to join me on Leo's right wing? Mikey and Michelangelo can work on his left."

"Sure. Leo, can I sit on your shell?"

"I'll hardly feel your weight, Raphael. Go ahead," Leo chuckled. Michelangelo sat on the other half of his shell. Both brothers watched the veterans before starting. Leo's eyelids dropped and he started purring. Raphael and Michelangelo gasped as his shell started vibrating and them along with it.

"Yeah, his purr is pretty darn powerful," Mikey chuckled, stroking Leo's wing claw with an oily cloth lovingly. "But you should hear his roar. Rawr." Leo chuckled and mockingly growled. Mikey grinned and continued rubbing the cloth other Leo's wing.

Raph squeezed another amount of oil out onto his cloth, and Raphael struck up a conversation that everyone joined.

"So, any big battles lately?" he asked cautiously, unaware if he was going to make anyone hurt.

"Well, about eight months ago we were discovered by the humans and a SWAT team invaded our lair. We beat them back with minimal casualties; the humans died, but Mikey was the only one injured.

"From there on, it was a battle. We had to hide, but keep the Jacksons – Sky's family – and Maurine, a good friend, safe. I got shot in the shoulder, Raph was attacked by a bunch of muggers and nearly lost it, Donnie was set upon by a rabid dog – boy, was that a mess – and Mikey's been attacked during a training run."

"Shot in the shoulder?" Master Raphael asked.

"Yeah. My shoulders, limbs, and head are the only places a bullet will actually enter my scales. My shell and plastron turn all bullets, no matter what. The nanobots are pretty powerful."

"And, Raph, you were attacked and nearly lost it? What does that mean?"

"I'm a vampire-turtle," Raph explained quietly. "It had been a full moon. I always feel the urge stronger then. The urge to drink blood. So when they started bleeding – and when I started bleeding – it nearly pushed me over the edge."

"We had to feed him when he came home," Leo explained to Raphael. "Donnie's got lots of bags of blood. We give one to Raph and he does his thing. It helps all of us."

"I see. Interesting, Raph. It must be difficult to fight it."

"Not really. Mother – you could call her the Queen of Vampires – took away the sharper edges. Just every full moon I have to drink blood, or I'll start biting people. And the ones in the most danger are my brothers."

"Yeah, and Leo doesn't want a second pair of wings," Mikey joked. Raph grinned sheepishly.

"And, Mikey, I realize I am unfair and have not asked for your story. When were you attacked?"

"Well, _that_ is embarrassing," Mikey mumbled.

"An old lady got mad at him and hit him with her cane," Raph chuckled.

"She was strong!" Mikey pouted. Raphael raised an eye ridge. "She left bruises."

"He knocked over a garbage can and scared an elderly lady half to death. When he tried to make sure she was okay – 'cause she wasn't really on her feet anymore – she attacked him with her metal cane," Leo explained. "I arrived just in time to save Mikey from a head-bashing."

"I do not know what to say," Raphael said to cover his amusement.

Michelangelo, though, was already laughing enough for the both of them. Mikey stuck his tongue out at his counterpart and bent back to the task of rubbing oil on Leo's wings.

"Careful!" Raph warned Raphael. The ninja master froze, his hand dangerously close to Leo's wing joint. "He's pretty damn ticklish. You do that while you're sitting on his shell, and you will find yourself flat as a pancake. He'll roll over onto you," Raph added.

"Oh." Raphael moved his hand away and worked on the lower wing.

"Mikey handles the sensitive parts like that. We've also discovered that regular veggie oil rubbed over his scales keep _them_ hard. But it makes for one _slippery_ turtle until he soaks it all in."

"That could be done," Leo mumbled, half-asleep.

"You'd think he was a cat," Raph muttered. "Going on like that. I'm surprised he doesn't roll over and insist we rub his tummy."

"It's covered in metal," Leo responded. "I wouldn't feel it anyway." He stretched and pushed his wings out a little farther. "Oooh, my wings feel so much better. Raphael, Michelangelo, you can get off my shell. Mikey will just to the wing joints and we're done with my wings."

"When was the last time you had your scales oiled?" Mikey asked.

"I dunno… Couple months?"

"No wonder this one is loose," Mikey sighed, fingering a scale on Leo's side. Michelangelo and Raphael got off of Leo and stood nearby. "I think I have to yank it."

"You sure?" Leo asked carefully, twisting his head to see the scale. He sighed. "Yeah, that looks pretty bad. Do my wing joints and then we'll go over my scales."

Raph stood up and joined his counterpart and brother. "What do they mean, "yank it"?" Raphael asked.

"When one of Leo's scales is loose, there are two things we can do," Raph explained. "We can pull it out, soak it in oil for a couple hours, and then put it back in. If the glue is just a little weak, we wrap the area up in hot oil and it heals it and makes the glue stronger. In this case, we have to yank it."

"Ouch. That's gotta hurt," Michelangelo winced.

Raph disappeared for a moment, dropping his oily rag into the bucket it came from. When he came back into view, he was holding several sets of ear plugs. "I've warned the Donatellos," he said, putting a pair of earplugs in. "You guys will want to wear these." He handed them out to everyone, even Leo.

"Why?" Michelangelo asked, squeezing his earplugs and then putting them in his ear holes.

"'Cause if he shrieks, you're gonna lose your hearing otherwise," Raph grimaced. "I have to be outside the lair for this. My hearing's too sensitive. Care to join me?"

"No, I think I'll watch this," Raphael mused. Michelangelo nodded and Mikey approached.

"Raph, we're ready here. I'll come get you when we've gotten every one."

"Alright, Mikey." Raph trotted off and they heard the lair door opening.

"He usually waits outside, next to a camera so if he's attacked, we'll know," Mikey said, turning back to Leo. "I'm gonna grab my tools and we'll get that scales pulled." He ran to his room and came out carrying a tool box. Setting it down beside Leo, he opened it and grabbed a pair of pliers. Gripping the scale carefully, he told Leo to brace himself.

Then he pulled back with all his strength. The shriek that erupted from Leo made Raphael cringe. It was high-pitched and pain-filled. Leo's wings flapped around, making it difficult for Mikey to patch the bloody hole.

"Calm down, Leo, it's out," Mikey said soothingly, rubbing Leo's shoulder. Slowly, the wings settled down again and lay twitching on the floor. "There we go. See? Wasn't so bad."

"Speak for yourself," Leo growled. "I think that was attached to a nerve."

"Damn," Mikey swore. Raphael jumped; he almost _never_ heard his Michelangelo swear. "Sorry. Okay now?"

"Better. Let's use sedatives next time, hm?"

"Alright."

Raphael glanced at Mikey, who made a face as he bandaged the wound. Then Mikey went over the rest of the scales, refitting a couple by moving them slightly, and then pronounced him good. Michelangelo offered to get Raph, and when the two came back in, Raph winced slightly as a loud crash came from the lab.

"Man, Leo, I was hurting on the other end of the lair," Raph complained. "_Through_ earplugs."

"Sorry. It was attached to a nerve," Leo explained, wings twitching slightly. "Next time, we're using sedatives."

"Good idea." Don came in, Donatello in tow. "Mikey, I've told you to sedate Leo when you yank a scale. We don't know which ones are nerve endings."

"I forgot."

"Hey, no harm done. Well, not much," Raph added when Leo growled. "Someone's cranky. This is the time when the rest of us disappear so Mikey can work alone. Leo's in a pissy mood right now."

"Why?" Raphael asked as he and Michelangelo followed Raph to the hothead's room. The Dons went back to Don's lab.


	8. Shedding

"When Leo's pissy, he can get pretty dangerous," Raph explained

"When Leo's pissy, he can get pretty dangerous," Raph explained. "Mikey, as his Kalian, is the only one he trusts enough to let close. Beth's getting there, but in her present condition, we keep her well away."

"What is a Kalian?" Michelangelo asked. They were in the lab now and Donnie answered the question as he washed his hands of oil.

"A Kalian is Elvish for "dragon son" or something such. We've adapted it to mean "bond-brother". Something like a "shield-mate" except without the "mate" part. Mikey and Leo are Kalian and Kavara. Raph and I are the same. Kavara is "dragon mother or father", but again, suited to our needs. It was coined when we were Bishop's captives. Mikey named me Thohar, or "One Who Seeks True Wisdom". Raph was also named Koriat, for "Black Fire" and Baelnes, "Guardian of the Heart. Leo was also known as Alenes, "Knight of the Heart". Of course, we also named Raph Sehoro, or "Soft Flower". We all know he's a softie," Don teased when Raph colored and growled threateningly.

"I noticed that Leo trusts your Michelangelo very much," Donatello mused, sitting on a table. The rest of the brothers sat as well, perching on various tables and chairs.

"Yeah. He was shot with something called RTS, Rational Thought Serum. It nullified the signals from most of his brain. He was pretty much like a dragon. An _angry_ dragon. He'd been told that Raph and I hurt Mikey, and he was livid."

"I never want to hear him snarl like that again," Raph shuddered, expressing his fear for once. "Have you ever heard Leo snarl?"

"No," all three of the other-world brothers answered.

"Well, pray you don't," Don suggested. "Would you like to join us on a training session? We don't trust Leo near weapons right now. It's a lasting symptom of the RTS, which we thought we were done with but it just keeps coming back. Mikey will stay with him. Sky and Lincoln can practice their stuff on their own now."

"You are teaching them?" Raphael asked.

"Yes."

"Wise decision," Donatello pointed out, standing.

"Before we go, I have a question," Raph said suddenly. The brainiac's counterpart sat back down. "When Leo and I went with you to pick Beth and Michelangelo up, you called Leo "Dragon Lord". What's with that?"

"In my world, dragons aren't rare," Raph explained. "Black-scaled dragons are often ill-tempered beasts – though they are intelligent to a point – and will attack with any excuse. They have a small wing-to-body ratio, which I notice is not the case for Leo. Their claws and teeth are very sharp, and they have gills that are optional."

"That sound like Leo, except for the wing-to-body. As you can see, he's growing to fit his wings," Don muttered sarcastically. "It's making my job worse.

"He shakes things when he walks around. He bumps his _shoulders_ on the doors around here. The elevator won't hold him if he gets much heavier. He's already a thousand five hundred pounds, plus change."

"Wow," Raphael uttered, surprised. "The black scalies I've encountered are mean brutes, but they never stop growing. Of course, since I actively hunt them, I know how to deal with them. If you flatter a blackie enough, they will take down their guard. _That _was my reasoning. I did not know if Leo was showing the symptoms of becoming full dragon."

"What?!" Donnie yelped, eyes widening.

"Your problem, let's say, isn't unknown. It happens to the humans on our world. A dragon will find a willing carrier and bond with them. The black ones will usually take over the form and turn it full dragon, but with the wits of a human. Leo is showing the signs. He is growing and still changing. He will shed soon, I think. When that happens, you _have_ to be careful. Hell, a stray _breeze_ can send a shedding dragon into kill mode."

"We'll have to put him in the water tank. Or force-field," Don mused, looking around. "How long do you think we have?"

"Seeing his reaction to the pulled scale, I'd say a week at most."

"Damn," Raph exploded. "I'm gonna check on Mikey. Raphael, I need some backup, care to come?"

"Surely. Don, do you have some tranquilizers that will pierce his scales?"

"No, we haven't made any," Don said sadly. "But there is this." He crossed to a safe and grabbed a remote. It had a red and green light on it, the green was lit, and two buttons of the same color. Raph hissed unhappily.

"What is that?" Donatello asked.

"Something that will kill Leo, but it will also resuscitate him. Bishop made it. It works with his shell."

"Let us use that only if we can't get him to go peacefully."

"If we can't," Don stated coldly, "we won't be alive. Let me call Leatherhead and Professor Honeycutt. Leatherhead is a friend, mutant crocodile. Professor Honeycutt is an alien fugitive robot, a fugitoid. He's also got some powerful zappers for hands that will stop Leo long enough to me to hit this button."

"I'll do it," Raph said quietly, taking the remote. "You two get the containment field going. We'll get Leo and explain to Mikey what's going on."

The Raphs and Michelangelo practically ran for the living room. When he got there, Raph stopped short at the sight. Leo was still on the ground, his wings shuddering slightly. Mikey was by his side, feeling along his plastron and shell.

"Hi," he said, a little too quickly. "Leo's dropping scales like Klunk sheds, and it is really itchy he says. I'm helping him." Mikey extracted his hands and they saw a handful of black scales.

"Mikey, come here," Raphael ordered quietly. Raph stepped forward to Leo's side and brushed a hand along his arm. More scales came out with clatters and a sound like rain as the rest shivered.

"Leo, Don wants to see you," Raph said, bending close to his leader and motioning for Mikey to dim the lights. Once they were sufficient, he removed Leo's masks and examined his black eyes. They were large-pupiled and quite zoned out, unusual for Leo.

"He's not responding," Raph said.

"We can't move him unless he moves himself," Raphael grumbled, looking the large turtle over. "Raph, is he shedding on his tail?"

Raph reached over and pulled Leo's tail to him before running and hand along it. Scales didn't clatter off, though they rustled together. "No."

"Good."

Suddenly, a sound like Raph's fist hitting the wall alerted Raph to something near Leo's head. He exclaimed – cussed, really – in surprise and picked something up. He held it up for Raphael to see.

"His horn just fell off."

"Shit!" Raphael cussed, moving forward. "Raph, kill him now!"

"Why?" Raph asked, but he pushed the button anyway. Leo stilled completely, seeming dead. Well, he was, but he could be brought back to the living.

"Black dragons only shed their horns during _mating season_," Raphael explained, pacing. "With Sky so near the end of her pregnancy, he wouldn't chose another mate, though dragons do have more than one mate sometimes. But he _would_ be willing – more than – to defend her. And combined with the scales falling off… If you so much as _spoke_ to Beth, you could find yourself facing a very deadly opponent. Dragons fight over mates with aerial combat, and if you can't fly, Leo will think you are human or crippled and will put you out of your misery. Raph, he would see you can fly. He could chase you into the air. If he got you up there, he'd take his time. He's bigger and stronger; he'll knock you into anything he can. You wouldn't die of a stab wound or something. You'd die because your body would collapse on itself."

"So what do we do?" Raph growled. "We can't leave him here. He's in the way."

"If we can get him onto a low stretcher, we can wheel him over to the pond," Donatello said, coming out of the lab. Don pushed a low table on wheels after them. "If we can get him there, his scales will come off faster, making this easier on all of us. Your friends are coming, and they have agreed to help. It'll take us all just to budge him."

Don parked the carrier next to Leo and winched it down as far as it could go. They would have to lift Leo a whole foot and slid him over. He'd fill the table, and it wouldn't be very comfortable, but it was all they could do.

"So, how do we help him?"

"We keep him down while it's his mating season. When his scales grow back in, we can let him go. He'll be moody and overprotective, but he won't go so far as to kill you. And when his horns grow in, we won't have to worry."

"You know a lot about this," Don observed.

"I _am_ a dragon hunter in my world. I deal with the victims of black dragons a lot, too. I've never lost one."

"Good," Don murmured. "We'd hate to lose this patient."

A loud knocking on the lair door interrupted his train of thought. Raph crossed to the door and opened it to admit Leatherhead and Professor Honeycutt. Casey was with them, too.

"My friends, we heard you needed help and – Donatello, I think I am seeing double."


	9. Unlocking the Potential

"You are, my friend," Professor Honeycutt said

"You are, my friend," Professor Honeycutt said. "My sensors show you to be infused with transportal energy, much like the kind that emits from _my_ original transportal. You must be from far-off planet or alternate reality. I am Professor Honeycutt." He shook hands with the brothers, who were staring at the mutant crocodile and robot.

"Well, far be it for me to refuse civil greetings when my friends have brought you into their home. I am Leatherhead, commonly known as LH." He shook hands with the brothers as well.

"I'm Casey, or Case sometimes," Casey said nervously. "And you are…?"

"I am Master Raphael, and these are my brothers Professor Donatello and Michelangelo. For reference, we are referred to by our full names and _your_ turtles are referred to by their nicknames."

"Where's your Leo?" Casey asked stupidly. "And – Why does Leo look like you've skinned him?"

"He's shedding," Don interrupted before Donatello could explain the long history of their former leader. "And as for their Leonardo, that's a problem we're not dealing with right now. Leo's in danger."

"He's not in danger," Raphael corrected. "I am a dragon hunter in my world and Leo has been showing signs of what we call the Black Plague. When a black-scaled dragon takes someone over, they usually completely take their body over and twist it to suit their needs. That's why he's shedding; he's getting ready for the biggest change, when he becomes four-legged."

"You forgot to mention that," Raph said icily.

"He's in very little danger of _that_, Raph," Raphael judged, looking at Leo. He knelt by the leader's head and put both hands on the remaining horn. "Don, have you tried yanking these?"

"Yeah. It didn't work."

"They won't come out until mating season, so I'm glad you didn't get them out." Raphael yanked a bit and the horn fell off into his hand. "Good. It'll be a couple days, then, until the new ones grow in."

"Are they like a deer's?" Donnie asked. "Will they grow tines?"

"Shell yeah!" Michelangelo laughed. "The first loss is usually accompanied by three or four tines – it grows more elaborate after that. Eventually, they'll start growing downwards and make a kind of "rein"."

"Hm. How long does that take?" Don asked, examining the horn Raphael handed him. Donatello was looking at the one that first fell off.

"Three or four sheddings," Raphael shrugged. He put both hands on Leo's forehead and frowned in concentration. "Hm. The energy in him is strange. Donatello, Michelangelo, give me a reading."

Donatello and Michelangelo immediately jumped to their leader's side and the brainy turtle put his hand on Leo's left side, Mikey's counterpart doing the same on his right. The others backed up a bit and let the turtles do their work.

Donatello gasped suddenly and rocked backwards, for all appearances _shoved_. Michelangelo's eyes snapped open and he pulled his hand away from Leo with revulsion.

"Crazy son of a-" he began.

"Michelangelo!" Raphael snapped, shutting the younger turtle up quickly.

"What's wrong?" Mikey asked, very worried. He stepped to Leo's side and knelt next to his "twin", stroking Leo's wing reassuringly.

"The dragon who took Leo over is the _Dragon King_," Raphael snarled, standing and pacing. "Your Master locked him away in Leo's mind. He's breaking free, and Leo's helping him. Not intentionally," he added when the family looked skeptical. "But by changing, he's letting more of his instincts be overridden by the dragon's."

"Why is the Dragon King a bad thing to have in his mind?" Don asked quietly.

"The Dragon King… Let's put it this way. I've hunted him many times. He's always left victims in his wake, which has always slowed me down. Okay?" Everyone nodded. "His victims aren't normal. They're half-crazed dragons that will kill themselves _before_ killing you. They do that because they're infused with a magic that makes it so they will be invincible when they rise again, and they _do_. They're damn near invincible, too. It takes all three of us – plus a powerful stone – to break the magic."

"You do magic?" Mikey asked with a gasp. "Dude, that's awesomely cool!"

"Uh… Okay." Raph smacked his younger brother.

"What can we do?"

"You have no Focus Stones here. At least, I can't find any. They're either too faint or far away…" Raphael's eye unfocused for a minute. "Yeah, nothing. But I sense the potential in you, Mike."

"Me?" Mikey yelped. Michelangelo closed his eyes and rested a hand on Mikey's forehead.

"Yep. Geez. Raphael, he's _strong_ in Transference. I'd swear he could give ol' Butter a run for his money."

"Excellent. Donatello, can you open Mike's magic?" The three brothers were completely ignoring the others, who stared at them with confused expressions.

"I think so. It may take a while."

"Michelangelo, scan the others. If Mikey's got it, they might. And try to force Leo's Healing open, if you can. It'll hurt, but he'll be able to control it. Casey, Leatherhead, Professor, can you help me get Leo onto the table? We're putting him in the pond."

"Not in the pond," Professor Honeycutt gasped. "We thought you might be needed something like that, so I brought the Utrom containment unit." Professor Honeycutt ran outside the lair and came in with a strange contraption. "This will hold him and allow us access. It will also make sure he doesn't wake up."

"He's dead anyway," Don muttered, handing the remote to Professor Honeycutt. "When we're done, we'll wake him back up."

"Oh… I see. Yes, indeed."

The Michelangelos, Donatellos and Raph headed for the dojo to work in peace as the rest hauled Leo into the unit, helped by the automatic grabbers. It strapped him onto a table and Raphael checked him over. More scales were falling off like rain still.

"So… Now what?" Casey asked.

"Now, we wait until we unlock Mike's potential and scan his brothers." Raphael left then, heading for the dojo. Casey shrugged and made himself at home, saying hello to Beth and – Beth. When told to call Leo's Beth Sky, he just walked out, blinking owlishly. He'd caught sight of the little turtle baby and knew Sky was still pregnant. More to add to the mystery in this place.

Leatherhead and the professor headed for the living room. They pushed everything back into its original place and sat down silently, mulling over what could be wrong with Leo now.

_In the dojo…_

Michelangelo was holding Mikey's hands, frowning in concentration. Raphael and Raph were working together, and Donatello was teaching his counterpart how to use his magic. Raph, unsurprisingly, was gifted with Inferno, which meant he could control fire, both physical and spiritual. His strength, therefore, would be needed as the basic pillar. Since Raphael was also gifted there, he was teaching his "pupil" how to use his power.

However, they didn't have the time to teach them the conventional way, so all three pairs were mind-linked, the students watching mentally as the "teacher" showed them what to do and planted it in their minds. They practiced it.

Michelangelo's gift of Transference, the ability to transfer power from his surroundings into him and other vessels, was needed to fuel the three mage brothers. His "twin" was teaching him how to pull it from the earth around them, digging into lava flows where the purest and strongest magic energy was to be found.

Donatello was gifted with the magic of Knowledge. He would accompany the off-worlders, attached to Raphael's mind by a "line", and through the virtue of using this gift, would be able to _understand_ on a very precise and deep level what was happening. More, he would be able to tell what needed to be done.

When the three veterans were satisfied that their counterparts could handle using their powers for Leo's benefit, they relaxed and dropped both minds back into their rightful bodies.

All six had headaches. Mikey stood up, holding his head, and walked out slowly. He returned with headache medication, a pitcher of cool water, and glasses. He poured everyone a drink, handed out the tablets, and swallowed his quickly. Then he left again, and they could hear him enter the lab where Leo had been put.

Sky and Beth walked into the dojo to find its occupants resting, unwilling to move. Sky asked what was wrong and got a mumbled response of, "Leo's in trouble" from Raphael.

"What?!"

Raphael winced, and Raph actually barked in slight pain. "We're working on it. Beth, please tell Sky about our mage powers. Don, Mikey, and Raph have Knowledge, Transference, and Inferno, respectively. And tell her Kind Daggerwing was the one who took over Leo."

Beth gasped and blinked. "You're sure?"

"Absolutely. The bastard recognized me." Raphael closed his eyes wearily. "But for now, I'm going to rest. We won't be any good with the headaches we've got now."

"Okay. I'll fill Sky in. You guys rest. Anything to eat?" When they all groaned at the thought, Beth chuckled and ushered a near-hysterical mother-to-be into her room for explanations. Raphael covered his eyes with his hand.

"Oooh, I'm never mind-melding with _anyone_ again," he moaned, rubbing his temples.

"Ditto," Michelangelo whined.

"Same here," everyone else whimpered.

"Why does it hurt so much?" Raph asked, trying to keep his voice from quivering.

"Because we basically just opened something that _should_ be closed. You've never matched minds with someone. Meditation is close, but it isn't like mind-melding. Let's say I have been exercising my forearms a _lot_. But I neglect my legs. If I have to run suddenly, I'll be hurting. A lot. It's the same basic idea."

"Shut up," Donatello growled, slapping Raphael half-heartedly. "Wind bag."

"I would retort but it would hurt my head to get into a debate with you," Raphael snorted.

"Pojay."

"What?"

"I'd explain it to you, but you're incapable of comprehension," Donatello muttered teasingly.


	10. The Castle of Leo

"Alright, here's the basic idea," Raphael said

"Alright, here's the basic idea," Raphael said. It was late morning, almost noon. Mikey was still with Leo, Raph and Don still getting over their headaches as they listened to Raphael, and Raphael's two brothers were keeping an eye – physical and magical – on Leo's condition. "Raph, you will be put into place by Donatello. You will _stay_ there and _will_ the foundation to be stable."

"What?" Raphael sighed at his counterpart's question and massaged his forehead.

"Imagine Leo is a castle, okay?" The two facing him nodded. "Raph, you will be the rock under the castle. Imagine yourself like that. Then imagine that the castle is being attacked. The rock – you – must keep steady. You _have_ to hold or else the whole force – attackers and defenders – will fall. Okay?"

"Got it now," Raph muttered, rubbing his temples.

"Don, your duty is to follow me through the castle. You will look for anything out of the ordinary; even as small as a dust mite. You'll know when something shouldn't be there; it's part of the magic you wield."

"Okay."

"What should I do?" Mikey asked, coming in with a sheepish grin. "Leo's fine. Well, you know. Dead." They all winced and Mikey sat down heavily next to Raph, who flung an arm around him comfortingly.

"You will be the "food" for the "defenders"," Raphael explained. "You will pull the power like Michelangelo taught you to, and you will drive it into us. Gently. If you do it quickly, or "startle the herd" as it's known, you could send _us_ into shock and quite possibly the backlash would kill Leo and you."

"Oh." Mikey's eyes widened and he looked down. "Why can't Raph do that? He's stronger than me."

"You have that power," Raphael explained, patting Mike on the shoulder. "Raph can't do such a thing; it's like a fish trying to breathe air. Not only would he fail, he'd die. And if you tried to shoulder the foundation, you'd be crushed under it."

"You mentioned something about Leo and "Healing". What was that all about?" Don asked, trying to change the subject before Mikey started crying.

"Leo's channel – that's what these are called – is difficult to see. He actually is gifted with them all. When we go in, we could possibly blast them all open accidentally. He might or might not live from such a thing. The chances are low, though, so I feel safe. The one was _can _open right now is Healing. It'll help him because he will need to Heal his mind. Our Leonardo had Healing, too, but it was very weak. His main magic was something we call the Power of Hurt. He could sense anyone he wanted to, and more importantly, would be alerted when they hurt. That's how he always found us. As far as I can tell, your Leo has that, too, but in lesser quality."

"How many does he have?" Raph asked, jealousy sparking in him for a very brief moment.

"All of them, which puzzles me. The Dragon King probably nudged them all open slowly, so it didn't hurt or alert him. The Healing and Power of Hurt are two that are easy to spot. The rest are kind of fuzzy, but if they are at the power I believe them to be, he could kill with a thought."

Raph and Don shuddered. Mikey leaned into Raph and turned his face into his older brother's shoulder.

"If he did that, he would never forgive himself. He'd feel like he was dishonorable. And he'd be right. The Ninja God would claim his soul," Mikey sniffled quietly.

"The Ninja God?" Raphael asked suddenly, peering at Mikey.

"He sold his soul to the Ninja God," Raph said. "He was granted the "right", if you can call it that, to die instead of us. In return, the Ninja God got his soul. We got it back, but the deal holds. If one of us dies or Leo does something dishonorable, he is taken to join the Ninja God's army."

"Hm. I have never met the Ninja God, at least, not under that name," Raphael mused. "What is the matter with that?"

"If I get killed, I wanna die," Raph exploded angrily. "I don't want Leo to die instead. We need him, dammit!"

"I'm sure he knows that. But you can tell him yourself, later. We are all ready and this is easier dealt with the sooner we tackle the problem. You three need to sit at the edges of the room, and we "veterans" will sit closer."

Professor Honeycutt, Leatherhead, and Casey were gone, so it was just the brothers, Beth, Ralph, and Sky still in the lair. All six brothers met in the lab and quietly seated themselves. Raphael was at Leo's head, his brothers to his right and left and near Leo's side. Raph sat directly behind his counterpart, and Mikey sat between Don and Donatello. Michelangelo closed his eyes and touched Leo; the rest followed suit.

_Raphael's POV:_

It was chaos inside Leo's head. I winced and waited for my brothers to find me in the "field" that stood outside the castle of Leo's mind. They found me, Don clinging to Donatello's mind like a tick. He transferred to me and I sent a thought to Mikey. The youngest turtle was ready for it; he "cast" a line like Michelangelo had taught him to and I caught it. Down that line came power, enough for our mission and more. I felt the "lava energy" and knew it was being fed from a magma pool under us.

Raph's support reached us the next moment; I Felt the "ground" under us solidify nicely and the chaos stopped tossing the "dirt" around. It was all mental, but it helped me to visualize such things so I could tell people where to go and what to do.

With these turtles supporting me, I looked at the castle and watched for any flicker of motion. It was completely dark, except for a light shining from the highest room in the tallest tower.

"_Just like a fairy tale,"_ I commented to anyone listening. _"That's our target. That's where Daggerwing's being holed up. And that's where he's escaping from."_

"_We're ready,"_ five voices told me. I "nodded" and "walked" towards the castle. It was soon looming over me; I could feel the walls around it and almost whistled out loud, impressed at the power. Though Leo didn't know he was doing it – since Daggerwing was manipulating the energy, the force-field wall was strong enough to let me have doubts about my ability to break it.

"_Lend me your strength,"_ I ordered Mikey. A large stream between us opened, and I felt the Power collect in my core. Turning it into a mage-bolt, I "threw" it at the wall and watched as it dissipated, the energy dissolved. Donatello and Michelangelo requested more power and also began hammering on the wall. I joined them and we managed to create a hole large enough for us to squeeze through. Daggerwing knew we were coming, but so what? We would be ready for him.

I led the group through the "halls", perfectly ordered and neat. _Leo's organizational skills are amazing,_ I admitted to myself. Each "room" held knowledge and memories, and all of the rooms were connected by hallways. Each "room" also had a "short-cut door" that led right into another one that held relevant information. It was very tidy and nothing was dusty. Had I not known this was the mind of my eldest brother's counterpart, I would have thought whoever owned this mind was too stupid to know anything or not even a true human – or turtle, whatever.

I found the staircase we wanted and started ascending it. Daggerwing's imps and demonets, or little demons, attacked us. Mikey fed us power and we beat them back. Don pointed out a door I had almost missed. What surprised me was that there was _dust_ on this door, unlike everywhere else.

"That_ doesn't belong here," _Don said firmly. _"In fact, I'm thinking it isn't even Leo's."_

"_It has to be,"_ I argued. _"It's in here, and this _is_ Leo's mind."_

"_Agreed, brother, but let us see what lies beyond this door," _Donatello chimed in, a little nervously.

"_No!" _I mind-shouted. They winced. _"You know I do _not_ invade people's memories or go beyond the doors. I only traverse the hallways. And while you are guided by me, you will _not_ approach that door. You will leave it and all the others alone. Understand?"_ I knew I was being a little harsh, but ever since I had read a murderer's mind – and learned his darkest secrets – I knew I could never be able to do such a terrible thing again.

"_Understood,"_ the other three said. Mikey and Raph also sent a pulse of thought that indicated they knew.

"_Good. Keep moving."_ I cleared my mind, knowing that to keep it dwelling on that door was very dangerous. I needed my full concentration on the task at hand; defeating Daggerwing and reversing the effects of his imprisonment. We would leave Leo with the wings, scales, tail, and horns, but he wouldn't grow any more and if I could, I vowed to make his body shrink a little. His wings were in good hands, so to speak, and his body could be smaller. It would put less of a load on himself and his brothers, at least.

We finally reached the last door. I gripped the handle in my mind and took a deep breath before flinging it open and lighting up the inside. I was surprised at what I found.

I Felt everything, but had this been a real castle, King Daggerwing would be in human form. He would be standing over Leo, who was tied at the ankle and wrist and looking very unhappy. Also, great pain radiated from Leo.

"_Let him go and leave, Daggerwing,"_ I snapped, Feeling Raph's foundation shift a little as he Felt Leo's pain. Mikey's channel of energy snapped open, making me wince a little, before slowing back down sullenly. Don disappeared all together.

"_**Back off, Mortals, before I do something neither of us would like," **_Darkwing ordered, his "voice" booming. He grabbed Leo's horns – still intact – and pulled the turtle's head back. A dagger appeared in his other hand and he placed it against Leo's throat.

The foundation shook a little more and I closed down the link I had with Raph so the hothead couldn't Feel what was happening. Mikey's viewing couldn't be helped; I _needed_ that energy.

"_Go back to your world, Daggerwing" _I snarled. _"Let him go and leave!"_ I struck at him with a blinding thunderbolt, pushing him away from Leo before he could damage the turtle and cripple his mind forever. Donatello and Michelangelo "ran" forward and grabbed Leo while I advanced on Daggerwing.

They pulled Leo out of harm's way and then backed me up as Daggerwing triggered a trap spell. It hit my shields with the fury of a raging bonfire, tearing at my shields I had hastily thrown up. So occupied, I didn't notice when Michelangelo threw a bunch of "magic bombs" at Daggerwing. They exploded and tore away a few parts of his shields.

Donatello launched subtler attacks, like flaming snakes that were small enough to force themselves under Daggerwing's shields and then "bite" his toes or even crawl up his clothing to distract him.

I continued with the large lightning bolts, and Michelangelo chucked more "magic bombs" and "grenades" at Daggerwing.

We finally had him down, kneeling in the dust. His last shield was torn away by a fire storm I sent sweeping over him. He looked up at us, too tired to do anything but glare. I walked forward and placed both hands on his head before launching a full attack right at him. He screamed and vanished; Leo's body in the corner move and groaned.

"_Let's get out of here,"_ I ordered, picked up Leo's feet. Donatello grabbed his head and Michelangelo started weaving the magic to transport us back into our bodies from that room. While he did that, Donatello and I moved Leo into a lying position, much like he was in already in the real world. He lay in the middle of that room, and I Felt him stirring. He was still dead, technically, but his mind was wakening.

"_We're ready," Donatello called, standing nearby the portal. We all jumped through quickly and it snapped shut behind us._

_Back in the real world…_

"Oooh…" Raphael groaned as he rubbed his temples. He opened his eyes and checked everyone; they were still out cold but waking. He closed his eyes and massaged his head again. Raph, Don, and the Michelangelos copied him, but Donatello was holding a remote that looked familiar.

"Who wants to do the honors?" he asked quietly, shivering voice a sign that he was exhausted as well.

"He'll be safe," Raphael added when Mikey glanced at him. "His horns are going to grow back in any time, and he's in no danger of turning full-dragon or hurting any of you."

"I'll do it, then," Mike offered, taking the remote. He put a hand on Leo's shell before looking at everyone. Raph nodded for him to get on with it, and Mikey took a deep breath before pressing the green button.

Leo inhaled sharply and the screen on the back of his shell flashed. He panted and looked around, squinting at Raphael. Concerned when Leo didn't say anything, still sprawled, Raphael touched him.

The energy coursed through him, causing him to cry out in pain and yank his hand back. Everyone reacted at once; they cried out as well.

"What?" Donatello demanded, hand hovering above Leo's shell. He cursed fluently, surprising everyone, and Raphael felt a shield bloom over Leo. None too soon, either; a furious storm of energy broke loose. Leo twisted, hands clenched, and Donatello grabbed Mikey's hand. The younger turtle, too scared to do anything else, tapped into the magma flows and gave his brother's counterpart much-needed energy.

"We've got an even bigger problem," Raphael sighed as he watched Leo wrestle with Don's shield, trying to break free. "He's gone berserk."


	11. Dinner Conversations

"What was that all about

"What was that all about?" Raph asked angrily. He and his brothers had been shoved forcefully out of room at the beginning of Leo's fit; only now did their counterparts emerge, exhausted. Mikey had the sense – even through his pounding headache – to give them glasses of water and get Tylenol for them all.

"We did as I feared, and blasted the channels open," Raphael explained wearily, sinking into a chair with a groan. "Donatello and I managed to contain him, but just barely. He's a trigger waiting to be pulled. Michelangelo was able to Heal some of the channels so they don't burn so much, but there's only so much we can do."

"What does that mean?" Don asked fearfully.

"Until we coach him, he'll be having fits like he just did. Only bigger and stronger. He was working at _half his potential_."

"He nearly had us beat," Donatello admitted. "But we are more experienced. Mikey, thanks for the boost."

"Bo problem. Can we see him?"

"Not unless you want the whole sewage system exploding and New York sinking," Michelangelo said gravely. "We've got his shielded for now, but if he starts throwing a fit… I don't know if we can hold him again. We can only channel so much power, after all."

"Where is Leo being fed?" Raphael mused to himself, half-closed eyes betraying that it was a rhetorical question and he was just talking to himself. "He's got an outside source, or else he's not a turtle. Donatello, did you get the readings on the Well?"

"Yeah; deeper than mine, almost as deep as yours," Donatello answered after a second of debate. "And that's untrained and untried."

"So Daggerwing left his gift to his "subject". Poor Leo. He's going to hurt like a sore tooth anytime soon." Raphael stroked the chair arm thoughtfully. "Mikey, you know how to draw power from the ground?"

"Yeah," Mike said warily.

"See if you can do it with Leo. I don't want him recharging unless I say he can." Raphael closed his eyes and Mikey gaped at him.

"You want me to _drain_ Leo?" he nearly screamed.

"Yes."

The calculated indifference cut through to Mikey, who sagged back into the sofa he had occupied with Michelangelo and Don. "Fine," he muttered, feeling rebellious and greatly betrayed.

Closing his eyes, he _Searched_ for Leo like Michelangelo had taught him to. Once he found Leo's Well of Power, he started imagining a rock at the bottom coming loose. He poured the "water", power, from the well into himself before sending it into the others to boost their energy. Everyone sighed with relief. Leo's energies were enough to take the strain from them, a very high marker of a deep Well.

"Good. Keep him draining, Mikey," Raphael ordered, flexing his arms. Raph headed off for his room in a huff, glaring at the lab for a moment before moving on to his room. Don sighed and followed quickly. Mikey huddled in Michelangelo's warm embrace, since his Kavara was not there. Raphael and Donatello spoke quietly, the latter seated on the floor facing his leader.

_In the lab…_

In confusion, Leo looked around. He had woken up, but only the three counterparts were there; his brothers weren't. They looked terribly exhausted; he tried to speak but Donatello shook his head.

Now he was bored. He had heard them talking, and Raphael saying something about "fits" and "Power Wells" but nothing much else except that they weren't allowed to see him yet. His attention kept wandering. He briefly flashed on thoughts of Mikey, and desperately wanted to see his Kalian. Leo didn't have the strength, however, and couldn't even manage to call for someone to explain things to him.

He hadn't been told anything, just that he was "sick" and being put under good care. He wanted his brothers; why couldn't anyone see that?

_You're being childish,_ he scolded himself. _You can't expect them to come in when Raphael has said, "No" very clearly. How is Kalian? I wish I knew what is going on._

Leo looked at the clock and realized with alarm that it was nearly dinner time, but one what day he didn't know. He suspected – by the feeling in his back and chest – that they had used the remote. But why?

He carefully examined what he knew. The last thing he remembered was… Shedding. His scales had been falling out like raindrops from a laden cloud and was very itchy. Mikey was scratching his sides, helping to relieve that.

Raph had come in, and he had replaced Mikey. Raph had looked at Leo's tail and felt it.

Then his horn had fallen off. _I guess we should call it an antler,_ he guessed humorlessly. Raphael's voice, shouting something, and then nothing. A last breath before oblivion.

Then Leo's waking again to find Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo bending over him, exhausted and frightened. He could smell it in their sweat, and feel it in their _chi_. They had left, merely telling him he was sick and being looked after.

_Maybe it's not physically sick, 'cause I feel fine if tired,_ Leo thought. _Could I have something like what happened with Daggerwing? That would be strange. Poor Mikey and Don. They have to be all supportive and-_

Just then, four turtles walked in carefully, treading softly and silently. Leo lifted his head slightly, all he could manage, and saw the Michelangelos, Raphael, and Donatello. The thirty-four-year-old turtle smiled gently at him, putting his hand on Leo's arm.

"How're you feeling?" Raphael asked, careful of the sensitive skin now exposed. Mikey and Michelangelo sat down on Leo's right, Donatello near his head, and Raphael by his left.

"Tired and confused, but okay," Leo slurred, surprised at the tired echo to his voice. "What's going on?"

"Rest for now, young one," Raphael ordered softly. "Mikey wanted to see you, so we agreed he could. You've been very sick, and you're not out of the trees yet, my friend."

With those words of comfort, Leo dropped back into a light sleep, breathing evenly and quietly. His face just barely relaxed; Mikey was used to that, but the other three thought he was still awake.

"So… Now what?" Mikey asked finally, gripping Leo's hand. The large turtle, in his sleep, squeezed his hand gently.

"Now we wait. He has to recover and let his channels heal. We can't send him into another fit. Mikey, slow the drain. Let him ease into full power, but _very_ slowly. If you're draining him 90 now, the highest "safe level", knock it down to 89.9. Get it? I want it _very_ slow."

"Okay." Mikey closed his eyes and envisioned a tiny pebble being caught in a niche in the rock "hole". It wasn't anything measurable right then, but he knew it would block just enough.

"Good," Raph nodded, Feeling what Mikey had done. "You're getting the hang of this."

"I hope we can help him," Donatello whispered, stroking Leo's wings. "You guys need him. It's hard to lose a leader, especially one like Leonardo."

"We can't live without him," Mikey half-heatedly joked. "I love him too damn much to let him slip."

"You sound like I did at your age," Raphael chuckled. "I had a girlfriend. Human."

"Leo said you were older and farther spaced out in ages. Can I hear your history?"

"Sure." Donatello narrated, with Raphael adding some minor points about his first years with Leo and High Sensei. Michelangelo gripped Mikey's shoulder as the younger turtle gazed down on his Kavara, only half listening to the story. Leo was sleeping peacefully on his plastron, oblivious to everything else.

Mikey sighed when the last of the counterparts were finished and stood up, easing his hand out of Leo's. Kavara's wing twitched but settled again.

"Let's get some dinner on," Mikey suggested. "I'll start cooking."

"I'll help you," Donatello offered. "I'm the family cook. Leonardo was, but…"

"Really?" Mikey asked as the two trooped off to the kitchen. "Our Leo burns _water_."

"That bad?" Raphael asked with a chuckle and he passed them.

"You have no idea," Mikey muttered teasingly. "We have given up trying to teach him how. The _only_ thing I let him do is make tea, since he does that well."

Michelangelo and Raphael set the table quickly before alerting the others to food. They all sat down, Raphael taking Leo's seat at the head and Sky facing him at the other end. Beth was at his right, Michelangelo on his left. Mikey and Donnie were next, the hyper turtle holding Ralph next to Beth so she could feed him. Raph and Donatello were next to Sky, the hothead on her left.

As Raphael chewed on another piece of pizza crust, he watched Mikey. Mikey was seemingly happy, but when Raphael probed his mind gently, he got great Feelings of distress and fear. He almost smirked; Mikey always hid his feelings beneath a mask of laughter and jokes. His Michelangelo had grown out of it, but Mikey was still caught behind the mask.

Donatello's head jerked up suddenly, eyes unfocused, and his mouth fell open. Raphael turned his attention to Leo, thinking that the large turtle was throwing another fit, but Felt nothing. Michelangelo focused in on Donatello, touching his brother's brow and frowning.

"Donatello, wake up," he called softly. Raphael stood up and positioned himself behind his brother. Gently, he removed Michelangelo's hand and hovered both of his over Donatello's shoulders.

They stood that way for a silent minute before Donatello shook his head slowly and looked around. Raphael clamped his hands on the purple-banded turtle's shoulders to keep him in place.

"Sorry. I got a message," Donatello muttered. "From High Sensei."

"What did he say?" Raphael asked gently, loosening his grip. Donatello took a sip of water before answering, in which time Raphael sat back down at the head of the table.

"He said that Daggerwing was back, which means he escaped," Donatello reported. "He also said that Leonardo staged a raid. He's fine, but the lair is destroyed."

"Why bad news?" Raph growled, leaning back in his chair, crossing his arms, and turned his head aside.

"Well, I've got good news, too," Donatello teased. "But if that's your attitude…"

"Donatello," Raphael snapped warningly.

"Alright, alright. While I was Speaking to High Sensei, I Felt another presence. _Leo_ was listening in. Just enough to catch our Thoughts and he didn't try to do anything." Raphael's mouth almost tore with the large grin it now sported, and Michelangelo mirrored his and Donatello's smiles.

"Why is that good news?" Don asked carefully.

"Because he used magic and didn't throw a fit," Raphael explained. "And he showed restraint; he _could_ have blasted them both, but he didn't. That speaks for a quick recovery."

"Can we see him, then?" Raph demanded, facing his counterpart.

"Sure. We need to start the healing soonest. After dinner, though, since you all need to replenish the energy we used today." Raphael ate the pizza crust, chomping on it absently. The rest began eating again, too.


	12. Tea or Coffee?

After dinner, Mikey was waiting by the door when the rest joined him

After dinner, Mikey was waiting by the door when the rest joined him. As soon as Raphael had nodded when the hyper turtle asked if he could see Leo, Mikey had been off like a shot. Sky and Beth offered to do dishes, and the rest of the turtles cleared the table.

"Calm down, Mikey," Raphael ordered sternly. "If Leo picks up on your emotions, _he_ could get hyper. And we don't want that."

"Okay." Mikey took a deep breath and got himself under control. It was a remarkable change for the youngest, and Don thought he might need his temperature checked. "Now can we see Leo?"

"Yes. Quietly," Donatello warned when Mikey bit his lip to keep from crying out and flinging the door open. He'd probably frighten Leo to death, or into another fit. Donnie opened the door and they came in quietly. Leo was awake, staring off into space. He looked at them when they came in and smiled.

"Hi," he said tiredly. "How're you guys?"

"Good," Don answered. He and Raph sat near Leo, the other three holding themselves back, and Mikey grabbed Leo's hand in his. "How do you feel?"

"Tired and a bit hungry, but other than that, good. Itchy, too." Leo rubbed his head, right above his horns. "I'm guessing my horns fell off, and the scales, too."

"Yeah," Raph grunted, reaching forward and putting a hand on Leo's calf. The skin felt odd after only feeling hard scales on his brother.

"Do you want something to eat?" Mikey asked.

"In the morning. I heard you guys saying something about "fits". What were you talking about?" Leo shifted slightly, obviously wanting to sit up at least, but unable to find the energy to do it. Mikey's drain on him was absolute, only leaving enough for his body to function and slowly refill. In a few days, he'd be back to normal if Mikey let the flow be blocked even more.

"You and your brothers have magic powers, as we do," Raphael explained. "Mikey's power is a rare one, but a good one for him. He has Transference, the ability to take energy from one place and put it into himself and others. Don has Knowledge, the ability to understand anything he wants to just by invoking a Sight that Donatello's teaching him to use. He has been using it already, but now he knows how to invoke it to more powerful depths. Raph is a student of Inferno, the ability to control fire, both physical and spiritual or magical. His strength is commendable for one so young and untrained."

"I don't know what to say other than this: "Wow"," Leo chuckled dryly. "So, what has that got to do with these "fits"?"

"You're a powerful mage, Leo. Or could be. When we sent Daggerwing booking – he was corrupting your mind – we accidentally blasted all of your channels open. You've got some fine gifts, and some that are really hard to control. When you woke up, you went into a "fit". We managed to shield you so you couldn't do anyone harm, but if another fit hits, we will have a problem."

"Is Mikey draining me?" Leo asked suddenly, eyes unfocusing.

"Yes. Can you Feel it?" Donatello asked.

"I can See it. I think. A well – it's pretty deep – and it's filled with something like energy. There's a hole in the bottom, though. Should I patch it?"

"No. That's Mikey's drain on you. He's holding it so that, if you do go into a fit, you won't have enough energy to do much," Michelangelo admitted. "If you were at full potential, you'd sink New York."

"How do I control these fits?" Leo's voice was quivering a little, but it strengthened again. "Can you teach me?"

"I can teach you some control," Raphael acknowledged. "But for true learning of this, you would have to visit a Magus on my world. High Sensei is one who could do it. Or Alastha."

"You'd want to study under Alastha," Donatello said quickly. "High Sensei is getting old, and if you were to be his student, he could accidentally link to you. If he died, you'd feel it. It's not something you want to feel, believe me. Alastha would be happy to help you, and she's a great teacher."

"This coming from her husband, I'd think you were exaggerating. But he's not; Alastha is a very good teacher," Raphael concurred when Donatello glared at him.

"You're married?" Mikey squeaked at Donatello.

"Yes. We all are. Why?"

"Well… I just never thought… Um… Okay. This is awkward." No one said anything for a while, Mikey scratching an itch on Leo's shoulder absently. Leo was still rubbing his head, grimacing in pain when his fingers brushed the still-raw sores where his horns had fallen from.

"So…" Leo groped for something to talk about. "Am I allowed out of here?"

"Not yet," Raphael said. "You are pretty unstable. I'll begin your lessons in the morning. Mikey, dam up the drain a bit more. 50, if you can."

"Alright." Mikey closed his eyes and Leo Watched him patch the hole in the "rock" of Leo's Well. "There we are. He should recharge over night. Where should I send the energy?"

"Into the ground," Michelangelo ordered, stroking his chin. "You need rest, and receiving as much power as you are… You won't sleep. Your body will tire but your mind won't." He put a hand on Leo's shoulder and then left, followed by his brothers. Raph, Don, and Mikey stayed with Leo for a few minutes. Don described the trip through Leo's mind. When he talked about the dusty door, Leo frowned and shook his head.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Leo admitted. "I'll meditate on it, see if I can find anything." He yawned, ears popping. "Well, I'm beat. Good night, guys." He closed his eyes and fell asleep again, out like a light. Raph chuckled heartily, but quietly so as not to wake Leo, and stood up with a hand on Don's shoulder.

"Time for bed," he said, suppressing a yawn of his own.

"Can I stay here?" Mikey whispered, rubbing Leo's wing joint. "Do you think they'd let me?"

"I'd say so. He might heal better with his Kalian close by. I'll drag out the cot." Don grabbed the cot from the closet and put it next to the table where Leo lay. Mikey fell asleep as quickly as his Kavara had. Chuckling, the other two left, closing the door behind them.

"My room?" Raph asked. Donatello and Michelangelo had taken over Don's room, at his insistence, and Raphael occupied the guest room with Beth and Ralph. Sky slept alone now, but she was doubtlessly missing Leo.

"Your room," Don nodded, stretching with a yawn. "I'm tired already."

"That's saying something. Well, come along, we can't have you falling asleep tomorrow," Raph joked, opening the door to his room. Don smirked at him with a quirked eyebrow before taking off his sparse clothing. Raph placed his Sai in their holder and draped his mask over them. The rest of his gear went messily on the table near his bed; Don put his in a neat little pile on a shelf.

Raph took the hammock with Don sleeping in the small bed beneath him, made of a cot and blankets. Raph couldn't sleep in a bed, but he kept a cot in there for storage and the occasional visit from Don. Mikey never slept in Leo's room anymore, because of Sky, but Leo would often curl up with Mikey on the couch and be found the next morning, or comfort the youngling at night after a nightmare and happen to fall asleep on Mikey's bed.

Don rolled over onto his side and was soon snoring lightly; Raph lay on his plastron, arms dangling over the hammock sides and brushing against Don's shell. They fell asleep like that, too tired to dream.

_The next morning…_

Raphael woke in a strange room. Out of habit, he looked around without betraying that he was awake, moving an arm over his eyes like a sleep-filled turtle would. Once he regained his memory – with a slight headache – he stood up and stretched quietly. No one else seemed to be up yet. Beth was still asleep on her side of the bed, and Ralph mumbled quietly in his crib, generously donated by Sky. He stole silently out of the room, heading for the kitchen.

Mikey was in there, making tea and coffee and humming to himself. Raphael approached silently, intending to frighten the young one a little, but Mikey chuckled and tossed a rag over his shoulder, catching Raphael in the face.

"How did you hear me?" Raphael demanded, taking the rag away and stuffing it into a drawer that was open and held more of them.

"I train with Leo, duh," the orange-banded turtle chortled. "You learn to sense someone quickly. Especially since he likes to sneak up on us and glomp us."

"Glomp?"

"Hug really hard," Mikey interpreted, getting eggs from the fridge. "He, though, likes to grab us in his wings and not let us out for a while. It gets hot in there, too, so it's not as comfortable as one thinks for long periods of time without circulating air."

"Did Don tell you that? It sounds too smart for you," Raphael teased, picking up a mug of hot coffee and adding some milk.

"Yeah, he did," Mikey laughed. Raphael caught the flash of anger behind his eyes, though, and raised a mental eyebrow. _What's he hiding now?_ Raphael thought to himself.

Just then, Raph and Don came in, still sleepy-eyed and stumbling. Mikey, as if used to this, gave them mugs of coffee – straight black coffee. Raphael winced as they drained the mugs and then handed them back. Mikey refilled the cups, adding milk and a bit of sugar to each, and then placed them on the table within reach of his brothers.

"Lift-off," Don grunted as he seemed to wake up more. "Thanks, Mikey."

"No problem, bro. How'd you sleep?"

"Good," they both answered. "How's Leo?" Raph asked.

"He's awake. I'm making him tea. He said he's thirsty enough to drink even _my_ tea, and that's saying something. He says, "Hi", by the way."

"Okay. Where's Donatello and Michelangelo?" Raphael looked up at the question from Don.

"I don't know. They could still be- Well, good morning, early birds!" he laughed as the two discussed came in with scowls on their faces.

"Shut it," Michelangelo growled, gulping down a mug of black coffee Mikey handed him. Donatello did the same, and Mikey set about making the third big pot of coffee.

"Someone's a morning bear," Raph teased, sipping his coffee. "Didn't sleep well?"

"He's always like that," Raphael explained. "They both are. It'll take about five seconds for them to take in the coffee. Five… Four… Three… Two…" Raphael stood back as he murmured the last digit.

Mikey's eyes bugged as his counterpart jumped up and a light entered his eyes that bespoke his being hyper. Donatello was a little better; he stayed seated but by the way he held himself, no one had any doubts that he was well-awake.

Raph cocked his head to the side and Don did the same. "How's Leo?" Donatello asked, rubbing his face with one hand and sipping the coffee.

"Good. I'm gonna give him his tea and be right back." Mikey walked out with a tray of a kettle with hot water, tea bags of all sorts, and two blue mugs.

Leo looked up as Mikey came in and smiled at his Kalian. "Thanks," he said, sitting up carefully and pouring himself a cup of tea, adding a bag of Peppermint with caffeine. He sipped it as Mikey described what had happened with the counterparts of Don and him at breakfast. Leo chuckled at the description of Michelangelo and Donatello's hyper-attack.

"That's what you get for drinking coffee," he snipped. "And you can tell them I said that."

"I was thinking the same thing," Mikey agreed, filling his own blue mug with Earl Grey tea. He used to love coffee, but being with Leo – who got a little sick at even the smell – he had developed a taste for tea, especially Earl Grey. Leo still drank Peppermint above all else, though, and Mikey thought it was the reason their leader always smelled like mint.

"So… What're we doing today?" Leo asked.

"Teaching you," Raphael answered as he entered. "Teaching you how to control yourself. It'll be hard, but I think we'll manage. Mikey, your brothers can watch, if you like. It might teach you some stuff, too."

"Okay." Everyone filed in and crowded the lab quite a bit. Raphael looked around and shook his head.

"Not here; there are too many things to break. Is there an empty room around?"

"My old room," Leo suggested. "It's pretty much empty."

They trooped there, Don, Raph, and Mikey helping Leo on his right and the others on his left. He didn't need their support physically, but more mentally. When they were settled in Leo's old room, with Leo sitting across from his teacher respectively, Raphael began the lesson.

**A/N: Sorry for not writing any author's comments before this. Please leave me reviews; I love them so much. :-) I can't believe you all like this so much; it's dying to me. Humph. If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them. I've got the idea of Leo's training, but it's getting Leo-centered again and I don't like that when I said this would be mostly Mikey. So, ideas? Please, don't be shy. Any idea is better than none, which is where I am now.**

**I said something awesome last night, when my jumpy little brother was watching **_**Primeval**_** just before bed. He's really jumpy. Anyway, I said, "I admire your courage and shun your stupidity. I'm going to bed." I think it was cool. Just a tidbit from the life of Koriat Cyredanthem…**


	13. Training

"The biggest lesson I will teach you is how to ground and center yourself," Raphael began, sitting in a Lotus position

"The biggest lesson I will teach you is how to ground and center yourself," Raphael began, sitting in a Lotus position. His pupil and brothers copied him.

"So, I want you to Look for my mind," Raphael ordered. "I'll extend a thought, called a "line", and you'll catch it. Got it?"

"Ready." Leo breathed in and rocked his head back a little in a nod. He frowned slightly and Raphael smirked.

"Good. Gently, gently," he scolded, with a slight wince. "Don't try to "reel in" my mind. Just grasp the line and I'll pull you in. There you go. Now, I'm going to ease open my shields and take yours down. You'll See my mind, and I'll See yours. Okay?"

"Okay." Leo looked like he was concentrating, and Raphael sucked his air in slightly.

"Gently, Leo, gently. Don't drop your shields quickly, either. And you'll See my mind without stabbing it; don't attack. Just think about observing."

"Sorry." Raphael sighed carefully and opened his eyes, looking at Leo with a smile. Leo opened his eyes, too, and cocked his head to the side. "What?"

"Your mind still amazes me. Well, come along. I'll pull you into my mind, and you must Watch as I put up shields. Then you will try it."

Leo nodded and closed his eyes again, quickly followed by Raphael. They were both motionless for a while, other than a couple winces from the teacher and his scolding to Leo to be, "gentle with my old mind", to which Leo retorted that his mind was anything but old. Raphael just chuckled and concentrated on the task again.

Don and Raph watched carefully, Feeling the energy move around the room, being expertly controlled by Raphael. Leo's own energy moved irregularly, with jolts that must have been from abrupt attention loss. Donatello was ready to clamp down on Leo if necessary, but the largest turtle was looking like he was quite unwilling to have another fit.

Mikey shifted slightly, watching his Kavara train. He could Feel the energies, and was diverting half of Leo's to the ground still. He could feel the awesome power in that Well that did as they both asked, Leo taking "buckets" and dipping in to get enough for a shield time and again, and Mikey draining it into the ground. He'd built a reservoir it was collecting in, that would be accessible to them all if necessary. None of Leo's power actually channeled through him anymore; Michelangelo had showed him how to divert it directly into the magma pools. Therefore, he wasn't straining to hold the "creek" traveling through him, but only had to make sure the "hole" didn't plug or widen.

Raphael winced again, calling Mikey's attention back to the pair in the middle of the room.

"Gently, young one," Raphael scolded, sounding a little harsher. "It's not something like katana work. You can't stab and pull; you have to _grab gently_. And stop channeling the power like that! Use your channels, not air. It's unstable and hard to control if you don't use it internally but externally. There you go." Raphael paused and seemed like he was looking around Leo. "Pull those shields in tighter; form them to you. And stop wincing away from the power."

Leo frowned again and took a deep breath. Mikey Felt the energies suck into Leo and plaster to him, forming a hard shield.

"There you go," Raphael applauded. "Now hold them against me." Raphael threw a shruiken from his pocket at Leo's plastron, where it could hit and bounce off without an injury. It stopped short, though, and hovered in mid-air.

"Good. Now try manipulating it. Attack me." Leo raised a hand to grab it but Raphael smacked his hand's shields. "No. With your mind."

Leo scowled and concentrated. Mikey Felt the shruiken glow with power before Leo launched it. It zoomed quickly towards Raphael, who threw up shields in the blink of an eye and caught the weapon.

"Very good. You are good at offensives, Leo, but your defense needs work." Raphael pocketed the shruiken and the shields disappeared. Leo's followed suit, but Raphael suddenly launched a Sai at Leo. Caught without shields, the winged turtle's eyes snapped open and the Sai burst into flames.

"That was my Sai," Raphael growled mockingly. "You don't need to use that much power, Leo. You could have caught it."

"I panicked," Leo admitted, dropping his head. He frowned and suddenly held out his hand. "May I see your other Sai?"

"Only if you promise to return this one in good condition," Raphael grumped. He handed over his last weapon.

Leo frowned and looked at it for a minute. Mikey gasped as he Felt the energy from Leo's Well swell up and surge out; it connected with the Sai. Donatello brought his hands up to cast a shield around Leo, but Leo turned his power off just as abruptly as it has risen. Instead of one Sai in his hand, he now held two.

"Impressive," Michelangelo admitted. "Not out-right Creation, but a good talent with Copying."

"Well, I'd say this lesson was over for now." Raphael accepted his Sai back and inspected both. "Very nice work, Leo. Put up your shields and then you are free to wander around. But one of us has to be with you at all times."

"Okay." Leo's shields sprang into place jarringly; Raphael snorted slightly and stood up, popping his knees.

"I'm getting too old to sit on the floor like that," he grumbled.

"Thirty-four is not old," Mikey protested. "Well, not in human years."

"It sure feels like it." Raphael walked out, though, keeping his head erect with the pride that seemed inherent with the red bandana. Donatello sniggered and was helped to his feet by Michelangelo. Leo stood up, offering his wing tip to Mikey. Mikey grinned and grabbed it.

Leo pulled him to his feet, but Mikey was too smart for that; he sat down again, and Leo's wing caught him. The youngest looked up at his Kavara with tired eyes, and the large turtle just grinned and closed his wings around his Kalian.

"Fine, then. You're my prisoner." A muffled yell sounded from inside his wing, and the membrane bulged a little as Mikey tried to get out. "Ah, ah, ah," Leo clucked, adjusting his grip and smiling at his other brothers, who were laughing and watching them with knowing smirks. "You wanna join him?" They promptly booked, leaving Donatello with Leo and Mikey.

"Alright, you two, what now?"

"Am I allowed to train?" Leo asked, stroking his chin in thought.

"Sure," Donatello allowed. "But not too hard or long. I'll keep an eye on you."

"Thanks," Leo muttered rebelliously. "Where's Sky?"

"She is in her room with Beth and Ralph, I think." Leo nodded and headed for his room, intent on checking on his wife. She smiled at him when he opened the door and came in, ducking his shoulders to keep from hitting the frame. Beth stood up and left with a smile for Leo, handing Ralph to Donatello and closing the door so the two lovebirds could be alone.

"I missed you," Leo whispered, coming forward and hugging Beth. Mikey made a groan from inside his wing and Leo opened it, letting his Kalian out for some fresh air. Mikey disappeared out of the room to give them some privacy.

"I love you," Sky smiled, giggling as Leo picked her up to kiss her gently. He put her down on the bed softly and rested a light hand on her swollen stomach. His kid kicked him viciously. "Settle down," Sky scolded, glaring at her stomach. "Your kid kept me up all night."

"I resent that," Leo snorted. "As I've told you a million times, it's your kid, too."

"He's more of you," Sky argued compassionately. She frowned again as the infant kicked again. "That was lower. Hm. I wonder how long until I start cramping."

"Hopefully, when you're both ready," Leo said, sitting on the floor. His head was still above her, and he smiled as she rubbed his shoulders. "Mmm. That feels good."

"Your scales are coming back in," Sky exclaimed, feeling the sharp edges just poking from the skin. "Itchy?"

"You know it." Leo leaned back into her caress as she massaged his shoulders and scratched at the tingling skin.

_Outside the room…_

Mikey sighed as he took a drink of soda and set the can down again. He and Donatello were watching TV, but Donatello had half of his focus on Leo, monitoring for signs of a fit. Mikey had dammed up the "hole" in Leo's Well on Raphael's order, and was now watching the TV mindlessly. Raph and Don were working on something in the lab, Raphael was resting, and Michelangelo was helping Don and Raph.

Mikey grinned as he heard the muted voices in Leo's room cease. _Kavara certainly deserves Beth- I mean, Sky,_ Mikey thought to himself with a soft chuckle that Donatello didn't notice. _He's managing his time well. He spends the mornings with her, and the afternoon with me. Evenings he spends with all of us. And nights, of course, he sleeps with her. _

_I wonder when Sky'll give birth. April and Casey will make awesome godparents. I hope it's female. Maybe, if the rest of us marry, we can have kids, too. Don seems to think we can, but maybe only Leo is compatible? I'd love a little herd to call my own. We could name them Mickala for a girl and Michel for a guy. Too bad Leo won't tell us the names they picked. I wanna know if they picked "Leonardo, Junior" as a male name. Or maybe just Leo. Or maybe Lion Cub, whatever that is._

Donatello rose and stretched lazily, pacing behind the couch. Mikey leaned further back and concentrated again on his thoughts.


	14. A Toothbrush Assignment

If I could, I'd marry, too, Mikey admitted

**A/N: It's getting harder to come up with chapter names that have a lot going on, so I'd appreciate any suggestions. Anything goes, really, and I will probably start calling them "Chapter (Whatever)". If you have an idea, please leave it in a review or PM me. I love getting mail! -**

_If I could, I'd marry, too,_ Mikey admitted. _Leo was lucky with Beth- er, Sky. And he was even luckier with their kid. I mean, Don said he/she wasn't even going to be a bit deformed. That's gotta be lucky. Poor Beth, though, having to share a room with Turtle Hulk. Thanks goodness Leo doesn't snore. He'd probably shake the whole lair._

_I wonder if I can link to him like in those fantasy books where two people get those mind-to-mind connections? That'd be so sweet!_

Mikey continued daydreaming about what it would be like to be linked to Leo, feeling what Leo feels. He admitted to himself that it would be neat to "tag along" for a ride and Feel what Leo felt when looking down on his brothers, or banging his shoulders on the doorframes.

_**A/N: WE'RE SKIPPING AHEAD NOW DUE TO LENGTH OF STORY ALREADY.**_

_A couple weeks later…_

Leo's training with Raphael was nearly at an end; he knew how to shield himself and others, and how to keep his power from overwhelming his mind. Also, he hadn't dropped into another fit, a gift horse Raphael didn't look in the mouth of. Mikey and Leo spent quite a bit of time together, watching movies or Watching each other use magic. It was an endless source of fun for Mikey to watch Leo create Illusions of creatures and have them run loose.

The best time was when Leo conjured up a "stampede of squirrels" and sent them running through Don's lab. Raph and Don, working on a project together, had nearly fainted from fright as the hundreds of squirrels poured into the lab. They fazed through everything, but they _looked_ real enough. Leo was scolded by Raphael, but that didn't stop the now-adventurous turtle.

Also, Leo had set up illusionary spider webs all over Raph's room, and the hothead had nearly killed him in retaliation. Mikey was set up with _three_ Klunks that followed him around, and they all seemed real and were solid to the touch. Raphael had allowed that because it stressed Leo's power to the limit. Leo was only able to keep that one up for a couple hours before he lost his grip and the illusions melted away.

He got them all at dinner, however, making a "Master Splinter" that Raphael claimed was worthy of High Mage work. After they had all bowed to the illusion, "Master Splinter" had eaten with them. No one noticed the food dropping onto the chair instead of staying in him. Leo had finally lost that one, too, while Mikey was watching. Mikey screamed when "Master Splinter" started "melting". He had to be calmed down by Leo and Michelangelo.

Leo found other ways to use his power; he often soothed Sky at night when the kid kicked her, taking her pain and transferring it to himself so he could deal with it. He felt even more sympathetic after a night of holding the spell while dealing with powerful baby-turtle kicks. The next morning, when Raph teased him, Leo just smiled. That night, everyone was kept up by the furious groans from Raph's room. It turned out that Leo transferred Sky's pain to Raph.

Raphael scolded him the next day and set him to do many tedious exercises – including cleaning the floors with a toothbrush. The catch? He had to use his mind.

So that's where everyone stood; Leo was grumbling as he sat in the chair and watched over the toothbrush as he commanded it to scrub. It was boring, even more so than doing it without magic would have been.

Mikey was sitting near him, watching TV. Sky and Beth were in the kitchen making dinner, the Dons in the lab, and the Raphaels and Michelangelo were practicing in the dojo.

Sky came in with a pained expression, but smiled sweetly and handed a cup of water to both turtles. She sat down on Leo's lap, who touched her gently on the arm and took away the pain. His eyes closed for a minute as he dealt with the pain, pushing it to the farthest reach of his mind, but he opened them again. Sky kissed him in gratitude and lay down against his arm for a nap. Mikey grinned at Leo as he pointed to the toothbrush, which was prone again. Sighing, Leo turned his concentration to it and continued the mental exercise.

Don came in and found Sky asleep with Leo supporting her as he continued the cleaning.

"How's she doing?" Don asked quietly.

"I have her pain, so she's resting," Leo whispered. "I seem to be… Cramping or something."

"Contractions?" Donnie breathed, eyes widening. "Leo, quick, tell me if _you_ feel the urge to lie down."

"Kinda…"

"Donatello!" Don bellowed, waking Sky up and making everyone in the lair jolt. "Get in here _now!_"

Donatello appeared instantly, frowning at his younger doppelganger. "What?"

"I think Beth's going into labor," Don answered, gently shaking Sky. "Sky, sorry. Leo, give her the pain back. She needs to feel it."

Leo looked like he wanted to argue but Sky nodded and stood up. Toothbrush forgotten, Leo stood as well and put his arms around her as he released the spell holding the pain to him. Sky gasped and her face pinched. She sagged in Leo's arms, who exclaimed softly and picked her up.

"What now?" he asked as Sky winced again.

"Move her to the lab. I've got everything ready. Mikey, tell the others and stay out here. Get my boiling water and clean towels, some scissors, and a couple blankets," Don ordered. Mikey leapt to his feet and was out of there like a shot. Leo carried Sky gently over to the lab and put her on the bed he had occupied not weeks ago.

"Alright, Leo, you can stay nearby. Don and I will take care of the rest." Donatello washed his hands and put on specialized gloves Don had made. He also took off his stuff and stood by as Don and Leo helped Sky undress and redress into a gown.

Mikey banged softly on the door, announcing that he had towels and a blanket and scissors. Donatello opened the door and grabbed them before anyone could come in. Beth appeared next with a few hot water bottles that she said would help. Don put them on Sky's stomach, and she sighed slightly before seizing up again.

Leo knelt by her head and tried to make himself smaller so the two "doctors" could move around. Beth came in at one point to help with the delivery, since Don was blushing whenever he thought about making sure the baby came correctly and Donatello's hands were too big. Leo murmured soothingly, bringing his wings up and heating the place up quite a bit. They hung over Sky and the team like large sails, and actually made Sky feel safer.

Mikey twiddled his thumbs as he watched the door. Occasionally, he could hear Sky scream or sob. Raph had ear plugs in again as he paced up and down the hall. Raphael sat next to the Michelangelos.

"So… Who wants to bet it's a girl?" Mikey asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"I don't care, so long as she's okay," Raph growled as he passed. "But I hope it's male."

"Female," Raphael grunted.

"Male," Micheangelo contradicted. "Leo, Jr. Ralph's male; why shouldn't Sky's kid be?"

"Alternate dimension, Michelangelo. Sky doesn't have to give birth to a male. Heck, Donatello thought it might even be possible to give birth to a neuter with such gene mixing."

Sky gave another piercing cry, at which Raph winced. Mikey started in his seat and jumped up as another wail matching Sky's, higher in pitch and seeming terrified.

All was quiet for another few minutes. Mikey joined Raph in pacing, too nervous to be seated. They all snapped their attention to the lab when the door opened. Leo came out, a proud smile on his face and a tiny bundle in his large arms. Mikey rushed up to see, but Leo held his kid out of reach.

"What? Let me see, please!" Mikey begged.

"Calm down," Leo ordered. "And then I will introduce you." Mikey took a deep breath and brought himself under precarious control. Raph and Michelangelo crowded close, while Raphael stood farther back with a smile at the look on Leo's face. It was exactly like the one that had graced Donatello's when Alastha gave birth to her son.

"Alright, what is it?" Raph asked, trying to keep a straight face.

Leo chuckled and pulled the covers off a small green body in his arm. "Guys, meet your nephew. Hamato Lionel Jackson." He lowered his arms so the littler turtle could see his son. "Lionel, these are your uncles."

"Aw, he's so cute!" Mikey gushed, tickling Lionel on the plastron gently. Mikey noticed that the small turtle's plastron was a yellow-gold like Leo's, but his shell was a very dark green. He had tiny wings that grew from under his shell and had forced their way through it. His little hands had claws at the end of five fingers. The scales that covered his neck and shoulders were lighter than the ones that covered his arms and legs. His face was free of scales, and Mikey thought he could feel tiny horns growing in on top of his head.

"He's adorable," Michelangelo commented, squeezing Leo's arm in congratulations. "And he's got a strong voice!" Lionel had started crying. Leo disappeared back into the lab, closing the door behind him.

"Well… One more to the family," Raph said, staring off into space. "Sure is a neat little guy."

"I think someone's fallen for a certain little turtle," Mikey teased. Leo came out again and made a "Quiet!" gesture before leading the turtles into the living room. There, he sat down tiredly and gazed off into space with a fond smile.

"Yo! Earth to Leo!" Mikey called, poking Leo.

"Mikey, guess what." Leo's voice was distant but his eyes focused on Mikey.

"What?"

"I'm a _father_."


	15. A Party

Leo was in a daze until Sky emerged from the lab a couple hours later, holding her child

Leo was in a daze until Sky emerged from the lab a couple hours later, holding her child. She sat down next to Leo, who seemed to wake himself up and extended a wing over her. She cuddled in close and gave him Lionel, who woke up at that moment and burbled at his father.

"Hey, buddy," Leo laughed, tickling the child gently. He extended the other wing around himself, warming the air for his son. "I'm your daddy."

The little one just chortled merrily and sucked on Leo's finger, or at least licked it. Lionel couldn't get his mouth around the large digit. Leo moved his wing again, sensing a presence outside of it. Raphael smirked down at him.

"Congratulations, Leo," he said, gazing down at Lionel fondly. "He's strong."

"Yeah. Do you want to hold him?" Raphael quirked an eyebrow at the question but sat down and nodded. He was handed the little bundle like Lionel was made of glass, which in Leo's hands, he practically was. _Anyone_ in Leo's hands had to be handled with the utmost care because of the strength in the largest turtle.

Raphael felt his heart melt as Lionel looked up at him and seemed to smile. He offered his finger, which was greedily sucked on by the youngling. Mikey came by and pouted that Raphael got to hold Lionel when he didn't. He sat calmly next to Leo for five minutes to prove he could be quiet before Leo handed him Lionel as well. By the time the day ended, Lionel had been in everyone's hands. Sky slept all that day and night, waking only to feed Lionel. Ralph found the new baby quite confusing, especially since the two shared the crib and the little one almost never went to sleep.

They were both crying for their mothers when dawn came, and Leo got up with a sigh. He couldn't feed them, but he could soothe them back to sleep, maybe. Beth met him at the crib – now located in his room – and took Ralph away to feed him. Leo brought Lionel to bed, handing him over to a half-awake Sky who fed him.

"We should get formula milk," Leo suggested as Sky suppressed another yawn.

"Yeah," she agreed tiredly. "He's done." Leo picked Lionel back up and gently stroked his back. The little one burped, but the towel that was on Leo's shoulder to keep his shell and wings clean worked and Leo threw it into the sink after he put Lionel back to bed. Sky was asleep when he came back in; he smiled and lay down beside her again.

Everyone slept in until the babies cried again, making it known that they wanted food _now_. Leo got up and picked Lionel up, depositing him with his mother, before wandering out into the hall to get Sky some food since she missed lunch and dinner with the excitement.

As Leo crossed to the kitchen, the phone suddenly started ringing. He picked it up quickly, unwilling to wake up the grumps.

"Hello?" he asked carefully.

"Leo?" April's voice sounded relieved. "Hey, Leo. It's me."

"Yeah, I sorta guessed that. What's up?"

"Master Splinter said he felt something while he was meditating. I'm just checking up on your guys. How's it going?"

"Good. Come on down today, April. Join us for breakfast in an hour. Bring Casey and Master Splinter."

"Why?"

"It's a surprise," Leo chuckled, hanging up when April started guessing, with a cheerful, "You'll see." He then dialed for Leatherhead's communication cell. The mutant crocodile picked it up on the second ring and answered in a tired mumble.

"Yes?"

"Hey, LH, it's Leo. Sorry to call so early; did I wake you up?"

"It was time for me to rise anyway. Professor Honeycutt is awake and making a ruckus in the kitchen."

"Tell him to stop cooking and you two are to join us in an hour for breakfast," Leo ordered, trying to sound stern but failing.

"Oh? And why the special occasion?"

"You'll see. Be here in an hour." Leo hung up before the crocodile could start guessing. LH probably knew what had happened, but Leo wanted to maintain the illusion of a surprise. He was proud and he knew it; no need to tell them before they got here, after all.

Next, he called the Jacksons and invited them down. They knew their way, so they assured him that they'd be there within an hour.

He frowned and looked around. He was a terrible cook, so he couldn't make breakfast. _I can call Maurine and get her,_ he thought to himself. Scribbling a note to that effect, he grabbed Sky's cell phone and found her number.

"H'llo?" a sleepy voice answered on the other end.

"You still asleep, lazy?" Leo teased. "It's Leo."

"Leo?" Maurine seemed awake all of a sudden. "What's up? Are you okay? Is Beth okay?"

"Yes, we're fine. Listen, you're invited down here for breakfast in an hour. Meet me at the hospital, in the alley out back, in forty minutes. Okay?"

"Um… Okay. What's the occasion?"

"It's a surprise. Just be there; I'll bring you to the lair." Maurine had been in the lair, but was blindfolded on the way in, so she still didn't know how to get in. Leo wanted a run anyway.

He woke Mikey to get him starting breakfast and then left, trusting that Mikey would wake everyone else with the noise in the kitchen. He took the elevator and came into the dark warehouse.

Staying in the early-morning shadows, Leo leapt from rooftop to rooftop, going slowly to give Maurine time and to collect his thoughts. The cool air felt good against his skin, and he rubbed one arm. To his surprise, the scales were already half-way grown in again. He fanned his wings gently when he stopped on a rooftop near the hospital.

He waited there for ten minutes before Maurine's car drove up and parked in the alley. He jumped down and landed as softly as he could, but the car still jumped. Maurine got out and looked around; he stepped forward slightly to catch her attention. She looked up at him with surprise.

"You've grown," she noticed, locking her car and walking over to him. "And it looks like your scales got smaller."

"No, I shed and they're coming back in," Leo explained, picking her up gently. "Ready to go?"

"I just brushed my hair," she muttered when he unfurled his wings. The wind whipped at her hair as he took off, confident that they were safe for now. He soared onto a rooftop and skimmed as low as he could, going very quickly. It took them ten minutes to get back to the warehouse, instead of the thirty five it had taken Leo alone on foot.

He dropped down and opened the garage door with one hand, setting Maurine on her feet with the other. They walked in and Leo called up the elevator.

"Just so you know, we've got some guests over. They're Don, Raph, and Mikey's counterparts. And Beth's. We're calling our Beth Sky right now, too, so they aren't confused. Beth, my counterpart's wife, has a child named Ralph." The elevator doors opened and they walked in, Leo hitting a button and letting it descend slowly. "We call my brothers by their nicknames, Don, Mikey, and Raph. The others are Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello."

"So… What's the occasion?" Maurine asked again. The doors opened and Leo ushered her into the well-lit living room. Everyone was there, even the guests, except for Sky. Raphael came up and introduced himself and his brothers to Maurine as Leo wandered over to his room. Inside, Sky was dressing in a casual dress. She moved gingerly, and he touched her, taking her pain and transferring it to himself. She sighing in thanks and kissed him.

He went over to the crib and picked Lionel up tenderly. Wrapping their son in a blanket, he opened his wing and cradled the little turtle in his right limb. Lionel woke up and giggled at him; Sky had fed him already, and changed his diaper.

"We'll need to make a diaper run soon," Sky mentioned, coming over and resting a hand on Leo's arm. Her husband tucked in his wings so that Lionel was hidden and soundless. "And get some formula milk, wipes, clothes, all that."

"I'll give April some money and ask her to get it," Leo promised. He _had _taken up the comic book idea during that last few weeks and it turned out to be a pretty big hit. April served as his agent, sending it from her address and pretending to be the sister of the "agoraphobic artist named Leonardo". In return, she got ten percent of his earnings. The rest went towards the family's expenses, and some went into a personal "account" that would be for Leo to use alone. Raph had done the same with his photography awards.

"Well, ready to face the crowd?" Leo asked, kissing Sky.

"Crowd? Who'd you invite, Leo?"

"Everyone," he chuckled. "Your family, Maurine, Casey and April, LH and the professor."

"A gathering of friends and family," Sky chuckled. Leo opened the door and ushered her out. Instantly, the living room erupted into cheers.

Leo, knowing that his plans for a suspenseful unveiling were ruined, transferred Lionel to his arms. Maurine came up and babbled congratulations to Sky, who was blushing redder than a tomato.

The Jacksons were seated, watching their daughter proudly. Lincoln was next to his parents, beaming. The others were standing or seated, and Lionel was soon being crooned over by the females and Michelangelo. Mikey announced that breakfast was ready and he brought out plates of crisp and chewy bacon, scrambled, poached, and sunny-side-up eggs, French toast, and bowls of fruit. It was a feast fit for a kind, which Mikey pointed out was Leo.

Leo and Sky sat facing everyone else. The two babies were in the middle of the ring of adults, wandering from person to person. Ralph was crawling everywhere, and Lionel just lay on his plastron, his tiny wings twitching sometimes. Ralph came over to him once and poked Lionel, at which the littler turtle's wings struck back. Beth's poor child was astonished and crawled quickly away.

As they ate, the adults talked about everything from what color Lionel's clothing should be – blue for his father, or something unique? Mikey put in that Lionel should wear an orange shirt, blue pants, red socks, and purple hats.

"That way," he explained, "he's got roots from all of us."

"Mikey, I don't want orange anywhere _close_ to my son's heart," Leo chuckled. "He might turn out to be a better – or worse – prankster than you, and we don't need three of them in this family."

"Fine. He'd look great in orange pants and a blue shirt," Mikey conceded.

"Or, we dress him in any color we want, an not have a color-coded kid," Sky suggested dryly. "Honestly. What is it with you turtles and color-coding."

"When he take off our masks and stuff and just stand in front of you, it's kinda hard to tell us apart, as long as we don't speak," Don offered. "Well, not anymore," he sighed when Leo and Raph opened their wings. Leo's tail flickered in amusement. Like a well-honed arrow, Ralph was immediately on it, sucking the end and thumping it around playfully.

"Well, I think little Ralph's not gonna let you out of his sight for a while," Beth observed dryly as Ralph latched onto Leo's tail and fell asleep. Lionel was watching everyone with wide eyes and suddenly started crying. Sky gave her plate to Leo and picked the fussy turtle up, disappearing into her room to feed him. Leo stood up and Ralph woke, grabbing his tail even harder.

"Hey, buddy, can you let go?" Leo asked, lifting the end of his tail. Ralph hung on, though. Sighing, Leo picked Ralph up in his wings and gave him his tail to hold. Then Leo cleared the plates and sat back down, Ralph still hooked onto his tail.


	16. Chaos

A/N: Due to the length of this already, I'm gonna skip ahead a little

**A/N: Due to the length of this already, I'm gonna skip ahead a little. It's now two months after Lionel was born, just so you know. Nothing's really happened except that Leo's scales grew back in, and he's in another growth spurt.**

"How much of that have you eaten already?" Don demanded. Leo looked up from devouring another bowl of cereal.

"I dunno," Leo muttered around his full mouth. Don held up an empty cereal box. "Oh."

"That _used_ to be full," Mikey added teasingly.

Leo blushed and swallowed, putting his spoon down. "Leave off, guys. I'm hungry."

"And growing," Raph growled, standing next to Leo and putting his hand on Leo's head. "You're head used to reach to my neck when you sat down." Leo's head now reached Raph's beak. "Stop growing."

"I can't," Leo sighed, standing up. Raphael walked in, smirked at the largest turtle, and sat down at the table. His brothers came in as well.

"We've got some good news," Raphael baited.

"What?" Mikey pleaded to know, bouncing. It was late morning. The two mothers had gone shopping, leaving Lionel and Ralph in the care of their fathers (adoptive, in Raphael's case) and uncles. April was taking the two girls out.

"The portal to our world is set. We just need to activate it," Donatello explained.

"We would join you," Leo said formally. "You came to us looking for help. It would be rude to ignore that, especially since you saved me."

"You would come?" Raphael asked. "Good. Sky and Lionel can come, too. They'd be safer with a house full of ninjas. Leonardo knows where we are now; that's another reason for getting out of here. He could come here and storm the place. Lionel and Sky would be safe with the rest of our family. I know Michelangelo's wife, Sebraka, would be happy to host another little turtle. Her house is big enough."

"It had to be," Michelangelo defended, sounding like this was a long-fought argument.

"Yeah, with all the kids in there," Donatello teased. Michelangelo grumbled mockingly in rebuttal.

"Michelangelo and Sebraka host our family in her mansion," Raphael explained for everyone else. "We all live there. She inherited it – and quite a fortune – after her father died. She married Michelangelo and offered it to us as a haven. We were just exposed to humans then, so we were being harried from all directions. She lives on a large forest section of Mount Quilar, so it was safe for us. She's continued offering her hospitality, so we've taken her up on it. In return, we keep her lands safe from her enemies. She's got a lot, too, who want the fortune her dad left her."

"Huh." Leo's head perked and he walked out suddenly. Raphael followed, knowing that Leo probably had heard one or both of the babies cry. They returned to the kitchen with their respective charges. Leo made a formula bottle and fed Lionel as Donatello explained how the portal worked to his younger counterpart. Mikey and Raph made bets on the number of kids Michelangelo had. The turtle father in question just kept blushing as the numbers got higher.

The elevator door opened, chiming a tone through the lair that Donnie had installed. "We're home!" Sky called. "Leo, come help us carry our bags. April's got a car full up top."

Leo mock groaned and handed Lionel to Don, who continued feeding the little turtle while he listened to Donatello. The girls appeared, empty-handed, and got drinks of water. Raphael explained to them what he had told Sky's husband and brothers-in-law.

They moved to the living room just in time to see Leo come back in with a scowl on his face. Mikey dropped in laughter; Leo's wings were stuffed full of shopping bags, and ten more hung off his elevated tail. He carried a whole bunch in his arms, too.

"Wow, Leo, I didn't know you could carry that much at once," Michelangelo observed dryly. Leo just stuck his tongue out and put the piles on the floor. He took the diapers, wipes, and lotion into the bathroom and the formulas into the kitchen. The women showed off the baby clothing they had gotten for Ralph and Lionel. Lionel was soon dressed in a blue suit and purple hate with orange sparkles. He got red shoes, too, that were so tiny Mikey said he, "Didn't want to try them, thanks" when Raph suggested they see if Mikey's feet could fit.

Leo emerged again and picked up the empty bags.

"So, now that you're here, shall we pack?" he asked.

"Sure! I miss Alastha and the rest," Beth confided. "I mean, if that's alright with you guys?"

"Us? Sure. I'll call Master Splinter. Donnie, can you tell LH and Professor Honeycutt. Raph, please tell Casey and April. They're still in the warehouse, I believe. Mikey, you can help me pack stuff for Lionel," Leo ordered, putting the plastic bags in the recycling bin.

Everyone moved off to pack; the older counterparts and Beth stood by, not knowing what to do. After Leo was done talking to Master Splinter, Raphael offered to pack up stuff for Lionel and let Leo pack his own bags. Leo thanked him and nodded; Beth took over and showed her three turtles what to get. She carried Ralph on her hip and Lionel clung to the carrier on her back with his claws. He was seated in it, but he always grabbed things with his claws now.

An hour later, everyone was ready to go. Leo had packed sparingly since most of the stuff he was going to carry was for Lionel and Sky. He stored his bags in his wings and held Lionel. Sky stood next to him, a little nervous.

"Mikey, to open the portal, I'll need you to draw some power from everyone. Just a bit; I don't want you guys collapsing on the other side," Raphael joked, facing a blank wall in his room. Everyone was crowded outside, but the three veterans were inside.

"Okay." Mikey touched Leo's arm, drawing some power from their biggest brother. He opened a channel into Raphael's mind and "fed" him the power. He did the same with Raph and Don, both of whom blinked at the loss of power. "Is that enough?"

"Leo, can you spare a little more?" Donatello asked, closing his eyes in concentration. "I was up all night." He grinned sheepishly. Leo just chuckled and touched Mikey. He pulled up a "bucketful" of power and poured it straight into Donatello through Mikey. "Much better. Thanks."

"No problem. And you know not to stay up late," Leo mock-scolded. Donatello was silent, his attention turned to the portal. Raphael chanted a few words, and suddenly Leo Felt a power bloom in the room. His brothers did as well.

A blue portal, much like the ones Usagi uses, opened on the wall. Raphael staggered a bit and his brothers followed a moment later. Leo came forward and steadied his teacher, the others gripping his offered tail for balance help. He touched each one and gave them a bit of power. Raphael straightened again and walked through the portal, motioning for the others to follow.

One by one, everyone filed through, Leo taking up the rear. He glanced back before turning sideways and squeezing through since he wouldn't fit otherwise.

He came out into a brilliant light that nearly blinded him. He gasped and threw an arm up over his face, careful of Lionel. His blacked-out mask helped a bit and Leo felt Don tugging on his arm. Blind, he stepped forward carefully, not wanting to hit anyone.

"Leo, do you have a spare? It's really freaking bright here. Raph's got two of his masks on; maybe that'll help."

"Top bag," Leo said, opening his wing carefully. He knelt down so Don could reach his head. Soon, talented hands tied another mask in place and Leo took his arm down. He opened his eyes, surprised to see that he could just barely see. His eyes adjusted and he stood back up. "Thanks. Is everyone okay?"

"We all made it. Other than Raph panicking when we got here, everything's good," Raphael reported. "We're in my world, near the house. Come on, I'll introduce you."

They trooped for a few yards through brushes, Leo leading and stamping down a trail. They soon came into a well-tended yard. Leo stopped, awestruck at the sight. Fifteen, no, twenty, little turtles of various ages from five to twelve ran around gleefully. They stopped when he stepped forward. However, when Raphael appeared, they shrieked in happiness and continued running around. Four came over carefully, the eldest as far as Leo could tell.

"Dad?" the eldest asked, looking at Raphael. "Who's that?"

"Hey, honey," Raphael laughed, picking up the twelve-year-old effortlessly. "Where's Tyler?"

"Playin'. Who's that?" The rest of the group came out, and this time, every kid swarmed them, going to their parents. Six went to Michelangelo, five to Donatello, and four to Raphael. The rest ran to Beth, who smiled at them all.

"Wow," Raph whistled, watching as the three turtles interacted with their children. "So… Someone's been busy. Several someones."

"Kids, kids, calm down!" an authoritative voice called from the doorway. "Come on now, time to wash for lunch. Go on, scoot!" The flock headed inside and could be heard shrieking inside. "Well, Raphael, I hope you have a good explanation," she began mock-angrily.

"Calm down, sweetie," Donatello placated, coming forward. "Alastha, I'd like you to meet our counterparts. Mikey, the one in orange. Raph, the one in red. Don or Donnie, the one in purple. And Leo, the scaled one. And Sky, Leo's wife. She recently gave birth to their first child, Lionel."

"Oh, well, welcome, all of you. I am Alastha, wife to this hooligan." Donatello grinned sheepishly. "I'm better known as High Mage Alastha, but you can call me Ala."

"Hello, Ala. I'm Leonardo, commonly called Leo to minimize confusion," Leo chuckled. "Michelangelo offered us the hospitality of this home. We have come to help your family against my counterpart, the evil Leonardo."

"And to get a better control on that magic," Alastha said dryly. "Raphael, I don't doubt you did your best, but his hold is precarious. See the others to the rooms. I will start with Leo immediately." She beckoned for the winged turtle, who dropped his bags at Raphael's insistence that he follow Alastha's orders. Leo followed her inside.

Mikey sighed, looking at the two bags he had packed. Mostly, they were filled with comic books. He picked up one of Leo's and followed Raphael into the house. He gave them guest rooms, clean and large. Mikey had his own room, while Don and Raph bunked in the two-room suite. Sky took up an empty nursery room, with a cradle for her son and a large bed for her and Leo. It was right next to the bathroom, which was good news for Leo when he got up to change Lionel's diaper.

Leo insisted that he would take care of Lionel during the night since Sky was always taking care of him during the day when he was training, meditating, or patrolling. He used formula milk so he didn't have to wake her. It worked out well for both parents; Leo could rest while mediating during the day and Sky got a full night's sleep.

Mikey looked around his spacious room with glee. He had his own bathroom, a small kitchenette, and a big-screen TV. _Life is good here_, he decided, putting his bags down. He quickly ran Leo's over to Sky, who thanked him. Then he ran back and collapsed into the soft bed, snuggling into the covers.

The next thing he knew, a large weight settled on the edge of the bed and a familiar hand caressed his shell softly. "Mikey, time for dinner," Leo called gently.

"Okay." Mikey yawned and stretched but stayed where he was. Leo stood up again with a chuckle and picked his younger brother up in his wing. "Carry me there?"

"Don't do this in front of Lionel or he'll be all over me," Leo chortled, complying and adjusting his wing's grip on Mike before walking out through the doorway. Sky and Lionel were waiting outside; he took his child gently and led the way to the dining room.

It was utter chaos; little kids clamored for more food, served by humans who seemed totally at ease with the concept of talking turtles. Leo stood for a moment before Raphael came up, dodging a servant with ease.

"This way. The kids eat here, the adults in the private dining room. Lionel can come, too, since he wouldn't survive out here. It's a madhouse, sometimes. They're all riled up with our being back home," Raphael explained as he led the way along the way to another dining room, this one filled with the calmer noise of talking adults. Michelangelo and Alastha were talking to Beth, the Dons were speaking to a woman with brown hair about some theory, and Raph and two other women were chatting. Raphael showed Leo to a seat next to his at the head of the table; Sky sat across from him. Mikey was released and got into his own seat next to Beth.

"It's hectic," Alastha smiled at Leo, "But I wouldn't give it up for the world."


	17. Joy, Sorrow, Disaster

After dinner, Alastha commanded Leo's time again. Mikey and his brothers were introduced to the children.

Raphael's four kids included: Tyler, a six-year-old boy apparently human except for being bald and having a thick chest, not quite a plastron; Josh, a four-year-old completely-turtle child who walked on all fours and spoke English; Amanda, a twelve-year-old girl and the first to be born of the children with bright red hair and a shell but otherwise human; and last, Stefan, a one-year-old who was a lot like his father in looks. Raphael's wife, the brown-haired woman the Dons had been speaking to, was named Sarena. She was a professor at Donatello's College for the Gifted.

Michelangelo introduced his wife, Sebraka, the woman who owned the house, and his six kids. Everyone looked like his father, down to the baldness and deep brown eyes. They were named Samantha (six years old), the twins Bobby and Tommy (eight years old), another set of twins named Irine and Mary (ten years old), and the baby Michel (four months old). Sebraka said that, as a Healer, she was able to produce many kids without the normal strain, a fact Michelangelo was proud of and took advantage of constantly. Of course, when she said this, Michelangelo blushed deeper than a tomato and mumbled something like, "What can I say? I love kids."

Donatello introduced his "swarm of hooligans". The eldest, named Teddy, was eleven, born a year after Amanda, and looked exactly like his father. Then came eight-year-old Zathar, a boy who took more after his uncle Raph in temperament already and had the thickest shell of anyone in the family with a mane of bright gold hair. A pair of twins, called Ana and Luxor, was next, both exact copies of their mother (except that Luxor was masculine). The youngest, a one-year-old, was named Haden. His wife, Alastha, was teaching Leo.

Beth introduced her two kids, Ralph and Lea, a ten-year-old girl who was as shy as the wind. She attached to Mikey somehow, and followed the orange-banded turtle around as he toured the mansion. Her bright blue eyes and build spoke of Leo to the core; also, the way she was always attentive, ready to flee at the least sign of trouble.

"This is the dojo," Michelangelo said proudly, flinging open the doors to a _large_ indoor gym. Inside, several adults were being taught ninjistsu under one of the women Raph had been talking to at dinner. She greeted them briefly before returning to the training.

"If I were Leo," Mikey whispered, "I'd be having a heart attack of joy right now." His brothers snickered.

"I did," Leo's voice said, coming up on them. Mikey grinned sheepishly. "But that was before I realized that I was free to train here at any time. _Then_ I nearly died from a happiness overload."

"Ha ha, Leo," Raph chuckled. "So, what now?" The older counterparts moved off, taking Lea with them.

"Wanna train?" Leo asked wickedly. "I've still got some energy."

"Nooo, thanks," Don peeped, disappearing. Mikey followed him with wide eyes at the suggestion of training. Leo and Raph grinned and headed into the gym.

Mikey lay on his bed that night, looking at the ceiling. It was painted a lovely dark blue with yellow and orange stars, put together to form constellations. He was tracing new ones when his door opened. He sat up and turned on the light, nearly jumping out of his shell when Lea appeared right next to his bed.

"Lea? Don't do that to me, honey," he laughed, trying to calm his startled heart. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry," she whispered, hugging herself. Mikey immediately sensed that something was wrong.

"What's wrong, Lea?"

"I had a nightmare," she whispered. Mikey made an understanding noise and picked her up, balancing her in his lap.

"What was it about?"

"Daddy," she cried, hugging him. Sniffling, she told the story. "I 'member him, I do. He was always nice, always. He could get angry, but he not usually. He loved us. Mommy said he looked different because he took a bath in some stuff that changed him. She said I should ignore the other kids when they teased me about my shell.

"But then he went away. I asked Mommy where he was, and she got all sad and told me he was in a better place. I thought she meant he was at the beach or something. But I heard Unca Donnie telling Mommy that Daddy had come back.

"I asked him, "When's Daddy coming home?" and he said that he wasn't. I didn't understand. I don't. Where is Daddy?"

Mikey didn't know how to respond, so he sat and stroked her shell softly for a minute. "Your daddy's sick," he finally said. "He's really sick. We're here to help him, if we can."

"Can I see him? Is he here?" Now she was excited, hoping to see her long-lost Dad. Mikey felt his heart wrench again.

"No, he's not here. He's… uh… He's somewhere else." Mikey hugged the child as hard and he dared and felt tears leaking from his own eyes.

"Can I write him a letter?" Lea asked, looking up at Mikey. She touched the tears running down his cheeks. "Why are you sad? He's just sick. Aunt Sebraka can Heal him. She can. She Healed me when I was really sick with a high fever and dee-loo-shun-ole."

"Aunt Sebraka might be able to Heal him," Mikey whispered. "We don't know. Time for bed, honey, there's a long day ahead of us." Lea jumped off his bed and walked out, humming happily. Mikey lay back again, looking up at the ceiling.

_Leonardo, if we ever meet, I'm gonna rip your throat out,_ he promised savagely. _How dare you do that to your kid, Leonardo. How dare you! And to your wife. And your newborn son. You are a sick monster, Leonardo. You're not even a turtle._

_And Leo, if you _ever_ do anything like this, I'll kick your shell from here to our world and then go _there_ and kick you back _here_._

Mikey thought he was overreacting, but when he went over the encounter with Leonardo's kid again, he decided that he wasn't.

He fell asleep thinking about Lea.

_The next morning…_

"Mikey, get up!" Raph called, panic in his voice. Mikey jumped out of bed and opened his eyes. Raph shook him, hard, and he mumbled, "What?" At least, he thought he did. "Leo's in trouble!"

_That _woke Mikey. He ran out, following Raph and Donnie. A furious bellow suddenly sounded throughout the house, accompanied by panicked screaming from little turtles and shouts of confusion from everyone else.

They arrived in the dojo to a terrible sight. Leo was down, bleeding heavily, and roaring in pain and anger. Over him stood _something_ that was a lot like Daggerwing but smaller and with a _lot_ more blades. They stuck out of it at every angle. The creature turned to them and hissed.

Its claw was in Leo's shell, scrabbling against the metal for a purchase. Mikey and Don stopped, horrified at the sight. Raph, though, jumped into action and leapt for the creature.

Raphael appeared and threw up his hands. Donatello and Michelangelo went for Raph, pulling the cussing turtle away. Raphael looked like he was fighting; at least, he gasped and moved quickly in a circle around the two winged beings. The bladed one suddenly shrieked in anger and curled up into a ball.

"Begone!" a feminine voice called. Alastha appeared next to Raphael and added her magic. Mikey could Feel them running out of power and did the only thing he could; tapped into a magma flow and poured energy into himself. Alastha caught what he was doing and opened a channel between her, Raphael, and Mikey. Mikey threw the power at them, and they caught it and turned it into mage bolts that struck the creature.

A hideous voice sounded from the creature. "This is useless. Your leader is very much on the road to death. I will leave you to watch him die." The monster disappeared, its blades screeching against Leo's metal shell one last time before it vanished completely.

"Leo!" Mikey ran forward now, but Donatello grabbed him and pulled him back. "Let me go! Let me go!" Mikey knew he was hysterical, but he _needed_ to get to Leo. "Leo! _Leo!_"

"Michelangelo, enough!" Donatello roared, slapping him. "We don't need hysterics; we need calm. Settle yourself down." Michelangelo was telling the same thing to Raph and Donnie, both of whom were trying to get to Leo. They took deep breaths and were able to calm down, but Mikey was past that point. He broke free of Donatello and rushed again for Leo, who was now surrounded by Alastha, Raphael, and Sebraka.

He was intercepted by Raph, who had tears streaming down his face, same as everyone else in the room, but held Mikey to his plastron and rubbed the panicking turtle's shell comfortingly. "Shh, shh, Mikey. Calm down. Leo's always pulled through. He'll do so now."

"Raph, take your brother to his room. You and Don can help. Mikey, I'm sorry, but you're in no condition to help," Donatello whispered. Raph nodded and moved, dragging a sobbing Mikey with him. He managed to get Mikey into his room and locked the door. It rattled with Mikey's furious pounding and Raph dragged a large chair in front of it.

Raph dried his cheeks and went back into the dojo. It was silent; everyone knelt next to Leo's mutilated body and cried. Raph's heart plummeted when he didn't see Leo's chest moving.

"No…" Raph choked and made a strangled sob. Don stood up and threw himself into Raph's arms. Raph was speechless, watching as Sebraka put a hand on Leo's chest and a tear from the Healer fell onto his cut-up face.

_That_ was when Raph realized that Leo's mind wasn't gone. In fact, Raph could feel it, very easily.

"Can we resuscitate him?" he asked the Healer quietly. "His mind isn't gone."

"No, I know that," Sebraka said softly. "But it would mean a _hell_ of a lot of pain. He would drop into a coma, most likely. He'd be unable to move at all for months."

"We need him," Raph said, unable to get angry in the face of his immense sorrow. "We need him. Bring him back."

Sebraka nodded and touched Alastha and Raphael's hands. They gripped hers and grasped hands with their brothers, forming a ring around Leo of clasped hands. Raph felt incredible amounts of power move, forming a "ball" between them that suddenly fell onto Leo.

Leo gasped. And screamed.

His scream of pain was cut off abruptly and the titan turtle fell silent and completely limp.


	18. Damage Total

A/N: For anyone that looked, the review "I" left was actually typed by Leo Oneal

**A/N: For anyone that looked, the review "I" left was actually typed by Leo Oneal. I didn't mean to put it under my username. Sorry, Leo Oneal, just messed up once. :( On a happier note, here's another chapter. Well, I guess it isn't really happy… **

Mikey stormed around his room, muttering death curses at everyone who had conspired against him. He leapt at the door when he heard the chair being moved away and yanked open the door. Raph faced him, rubbing his face tiredly.

"Are you calm enough to see Leo?" Raph asked, looking at Mike with an expression that said, _I'm sorry for locking you up, but I was panicking, too_.

Mikey couldn't even force a lighter expression; he was stony-faced as he nodded. Raph hesitated before leading Mikey to the infirmary. Inside, Leo was completely covered in bandages. His left leg was in a box seen in movies to treat amputees and burns victims. Mikey hoped it was the last.

His right arm was strung up, too, and covered in thick, smelly gauze. Sebraka and Alastha were working nearby. They were covered in Leo's dark blood.

On a table nearby sat his gear, all soaked through with blood. Mikey saw that his horns were there, too, apparently ripped out. _That had to hurt_, he thought to himself, wincing. He went over to Leo and touched a hand to his big brother's plastron.

"How is he?" he asked Sebraka, forcing down more tears. _I've cried enough. Leo would want me to be strong._

"How do you think? We lost him," she snapped. "Sorry," she sighed. "We brought him back, but he's in a coma. We had to… We had to amputate his left leg from the mid-thigh. And his right arm from the elbow. There was nothing else we could do. I'm sorry."

Mikey sat down heavily, just making it into a chair. "Will he make it?" Raph asked quietly.

"I don't know, Raph. He should be dead, by all my training. But something's holding him here."

"The Ninja God," Mikey realized. "He must think that we need Leo, enough to intervene. And Leo made a deal; he dies for one of us. He'll live because he has to die for one of us later." Mikey broke down then, leaning onto Leo's bed and crying into the blankets. Raph rubbed his shell soothingly. Don and Donatello entered, wheeling a cart in front of them. It had various tools on it that Mikey didn't like the look of; they were sharp and pointy.

"Hey, Mikey," Don greeted quietly. "How're you holding up?"

Mikey sobbed uncontrollably, unable to stop. Don patted him soothingly, standing across from Raph. "Mikey, go get some sleep. We'll be in in a few minutes. I think… I think we should tell Master Splinter."

"Where's Sky?" Raph asked suddenly.

"She's… She doesn't know!" Don realized, horrified. "Raph, take Mikey to our rooms; we'll bunk together tonight. I'll go tell her!"

Donnie shot out of there and could be heard running for Leo's room. Don kicked himself several times by the time he got there, disgusted that he had forgotten that Leo wasn't only fussed over by his brothers anymore.

"Sky?" Don called softly, opening the door. Sky's form was in the bed, shifting as he walked in noisily. "Sky, wake up."

"What?" Sky sat up as Don came over and sat on the edge of her bed. "What is it?"

"Sky… Brace yourself. This is bad."

"Where's Leo?" she asked suspiciously.

"He's… Hurt. Badly."

"What? Where is he?" Sky's eyes widened as Don felt tears run down his cheeks again. "Don, talk to me. What's happened?"

"A bladed thing… It came in while Leo was training… It attacked him… Oh, God, Sky, he's barely alive. He should be dead."

"Take me to him," Sky ordered, standing up and tugging Don's arm. "Donnie, I need to see him, please take me, come on!"

Don stood up and led her silently to the infirmary. Mikey was gone, thankfully, so Sky was able to sit right next to her bandaged husband. "Leo?" she choked, sobbing as she saw the bandages covering his entire body. She cried and looked at his hanging arm and enclosed leg. "Leo, wake up, this isn't funny, wake up!"

"He can't hear you," Sebraka said quietly. "He's in a coma. Sky, I'm so sorry. We had to amputate his left leg from the mid-thigh and his right arm from the elbow."

"What? Why?" Sky asked, looking at the two limbs in question. She noticed that Leo's wings were tucked in under him, since they didn't have room in the infirmary to spread them out and still move around easily.

"They were completely shredded. My best guess is that he was doing something with his right arm and left leg forward when the monster attacked. Sky, I'm sorry, but you need some rest. We're still not done; we haven't even gotten to his wings yet. And he just barely is stable."

Numbly, Sky followed Don back to her room and collapsed on her bed. Lionel started crying and she gathered him up, soothing them both with words and lullabies.

_The next morning…_

Mikey stared at the ceiling. He hadn't gone to sleep. Raph was pacing, as he had all night, and Don was fidgeting with the corner of his blanket. It was nearly frayed.

Raphael suddenly knocked, and Mikey knew it was him because the older turtle called their names. Raph opened the door quickly.

"I've got the portal open to your friends' house. I thought you should tell him," Raphael confided quietly. "And here's some good news; Leo's in stable condition now."

"Good," Donnie whispered, following the Raphs to Raphael's study. The blue portal glowed happily. Mikey felt like turning the blue into a sulky black. Don, Raph, and Mikey stepped through.

They came into a quiet house in the mid morning. Mikey could hear the TV, but he didn't extend his hearing or call out to find out who was home.

"My sons?" Master Splinter suddenly appeared in the doorway. He held a cup of hot tea in his hands. "What is the matter? Where is Leonardo?"

At that, Mikey felt his eyes tear up and forcefully knuckled them. Raph put a comfortingly hand on his shoulder before facing Master Splinter.

"Master Splinter… Leo's hurt. Badly. He was attacked by this bladed monster and really hurt. He's just gotten to a stable condition. He shouldn't be alive, but we think the Ninja God has something to do with it. Sebraka, the Healer, had to amputate his left leg from mid-thigh and right arm from the elbow." Raph spoke quickly, like he could dull the edges of the knife with the speed.

"Leonardo… Will he live?" Master Splinter set his tea down on the small telephone table nearby and clasped his hands together. His tail twitched slowly.

"We think so… But I think you'd better come with us. April and Casey, too," Don said softly. He moved off into the house at Master Splinter's nod.

Don found the two lovebirds watching a romance movie on their TV. "April…" His voice cracked, though, and April switched off the movie immediately. Donnie found her arms around him soon after that, with Casey's "What?" in the background. He cried silently for a moment before pulling himself forcefully together and pulling away.

"April, Casey, you need to come with us. Leo's been hurt, badly. He actually died, but we were able to resuscitate him. He's barely alive. Sebraka, the Healer, had to amputate his right arm at the elbow and left leg at the mid-thigh. And he's in a coma."

Casey cussed fluently, but April didn't have the heart to stop him. Instead, she let her tears fall silently before nodding. "We're coming, Don. Is there a portal?"

Don turned around and led them back into the room. Master Splinter was being filled in by Raph, who was also rubbing Mikey's shell. They were quiet as they stepped back into the portal.

Raphael greeted them sadly on the other side. He led the way to the infirmary, where Sebraka was just stringing what was left of Leo's right wing out and laying it on some tables. It was in tatters; the wing bones were all snapped, everything oozing blood, and the membrane was shredded.

"Oh," April managed, eyes watering again. Sebraka looked up and they saw that her entire chest was covered in blood. Her arms looked red, not the normal pale they usually were.

"Hello," she greeted softly. Two men appeared from the other side of Leo through another door and took the wing from her, putting it out and beginning to clean it thoroughly.

"What's the damage total so far?" Raphael asked, locking eyes with Sebraka and refusing to look at anything else.

"Let's move to the waiting room," Sebraka suggested. She led them through another door into a room with a lot of chairs, which were soon occupied by dazed inhabitants. Sebraka turned hers to face the others.

"Okay." She took a deep breath and began at the head. "He's in a coma. Multiple head wounds, mostly blunt force to the forehead and sharper blades on the sides and back of the skull. Cracked skull. His neck has a gash in it, but nothing too bad, considering… Shoulders are shot; he'll need some intense therapy if he wants to use them again. The thing was able to rip the wing bones from his shoulder blades, so they're shot, too. We can reconnect them, but not without some high-tech hardware.

"We had to amputate his right arm from the elbow, and his left hand may or may not work. His arms are a mess, but the elbow on the left should bend. His chest is safe, thankfully. His shell and plastron saved him, you know. Judging by the scratches and bends, that thing was after his heart. His sides are punctured many times, too. I have the organ copier up and running to make him a new stomach. It's torn to shreds. And a new intestinal track, plus a new liver. All are dead. We're keeping him alive on sheer Intervention right now. We've got him breathing, but there could be brain damage.

"His waist is okay, not great. Right hip bone is also shattered. Left hip bone was dislocated and snapped back into place, probably by a fall. His left leg was amputated from the mid-thigh, too. We've got a good chance of fitting a robotic leg to it. The right leg's thigh bone is – miraculously – intact. His calf is fine, too, a cracked fibula but nothing really big. His right foot is crushed, but that's easy to fix compared to the rest."

"Results?" Raphael grunted. Everyone else was crying profusely at the damage total. Sebraka held herself under a precarious control.

"He'll live. We can replace everything that needs to be replaced. The only thing I'm permanently worried about is his eyes."

"Why?" Don asked, sniffling.

"They're blood-shot red."

"That's his normal eye color," Raph said quietly. "Mine, too."

"No, I knew that. But the pupils seem to have… Well, to explain it to you, I'd say they've become even more sensitive. I'll see what I can do so far as dialing that down, but it may come to pass that we'll need to make him some vision-filtering goggles. Anything too bright – and we'd calibrate the brightness – would be shuttered. It works almost instantly, so I don't think it'd hamper him that much. That, or he learns to live without sight."

"How sensitive are they?" Don asked carefully.

"If he looked into a small pen light, he'd be blinded," Sebraka explained mercilessly.

"Shell," Donnie gulped. "Do you think you can fix that?"

"Probably. Or, if not, I can always make the eyeholes in his mask have some _very_ thick coverings."

"Oh."

Suddenly, a man came running in and panted out a message. "Leonardo's awake!"


	19. Brother, Meet Brother

When the man had his message panted out, everyone stood up at once

When the man had his message panted out, everyone stood up at once. However, Sebraka sternly ordered them to sit back down. She and Raphael went into the infirmary, leaving the rest to cool their heels. Raph, however, was pacing up and down the length of the white-walled room.

Sebraka came back in, a tired smile on her face. "He's awake," she reported. "You can see him one at a time. Be careful, though. I don't know what damages have occurred in his brain – if any – and he's heavily drugged. He'll probably make no sense at all."

"Can I see him?" Mikey demanded. She nodded and he immediately flew by her and entered the room softly. Leo's chest moved up and down, a sight Mikey had never been happier to see.

"Leo," he called softly, sitting down. His brothers and sensei surrounded him, April and Casey on his other side. Raphael reappeared with Sky in tow, who stood next to April and looked down at Leo's covered face.

Only his mouth and a cheek were visible; the mouth quirked into a half-smile. "Hey, Mikey." Leo's voice is choked and hoarse, but Mikey loves it all the same. "What happened?"

"You were attacked in the dojo," Raph explained quietly. "Something with a shell of a lot of claws and blades. It cut you up pretty bad."

"I… See." Leo's left leg seemed to twitch. "What happened to my leg?"

"We had to amputate, Leo. Your left leg from the thigh down and your right arm from the elbow down. Sorry," Raphael apologized, taking a needle from a table nearby. He approached with it. "Is anything hurting?"

"Amputated?" Leo echoed, apparently not hearing Raphael's second announcement. "Why? When? How?"

"They were shredded beyond repair, Leo. If you were anywhere but here, you'd be dead. As it is, you should be! But something's holding you here. We amputated it while you were out. And we used the normal means; bone saw." Sebraka's voice was devoid of emotion.

"Ewww," Mikey groaned, unable to resist. He _needed_ to raise the spirits in here or he was going to have a breakdown.

"Amputated?"

"You keep repeating and I'll think you're brain damaged and send everyone out," Sebraka threatened.

"Amp- What? Sorry." Leo chuckled hoarsely. "How long?"

"How long, what?" Raphael repeated.

"How long until I-" Leo paused to take a tiny breath- "Get out of here?"

"Months, Leo," Sebraka said immediately. "And you'll have years of therapy after that. The monster tore your wing bones from your shoulder blades, and nearly tore them off. Your insides are toast; we're making new ones right now. And you'll have to learn how to walk again. And use your arm. And your eyes."

"Your eyes are more sensitive, Leo," Don explained hurriedly. Leo's mouth twisted into a grimace. "Sebraka's trying to figure something out."

"Huh… Good…" Leo sounded tired and Sky put her hand on his cheek. "Hey, Sky," he said weakly.

"Go back to sleep, Leo," she ordered, keeping the tears from her voice somehow. "We'll talk later."

"Say "Hi" to Lionel," Leo sighed, falling further limp if that was possible, which it apparently was. "From me."

"I will."

Leo nodded slightly and apparently went back to sleep; his mouth closed, at least, and Mikey thought he could tell his eyes were closed by the way his cheek was slack.

"Well, he was a lot more coherent than I thought," Sebraka murmured. "I wonder if the pain medication was even working that well. We'll have to put him on something stronger. Raphael, please take everyone out. We'll continue our work here. The children should be up and clamoring for breakfast."

"Life goes on," Raphael agreed, opening the door to the guest rooms. "Would you like food to be sent up to you?" he asked the guests.

"Thank you, but I'm not hungry," Mikey answered. Everyone else agreed with him, and Raphael nodded sympathetically. Mikey went to his room, flopped onto the bed, and screamed long and hard into his pillow.

_A few months later…_ **(We're skipping ahead again)**

"You ready for this?" Raphael asked again. Mikey and his two brothers were in the dojo, accompanied by Raphael's brothers, Sky and Lionel, Beth and Ralph, Master Splinter, Casey, and April. The floor didn't show anything of the scuffle that had changed their lives completely.

"What _is_ it?" Raph demanded, taking his anger out on a punching bag.

Raphael just grinned and walked out. He came back in a moment later. "Everyone… Meet Leo."

Everyone gasped happily as the door to the dojo slid open and Leo rolled in, in a specially-made wheel chair that powered itself. He was scarred horrifically and his left leg was missing below the thigh, his right arm from the elbow down gone, but he smiled upon seeing them. The black goggles secured around his head made it look like he had no eyes. His wings were folded neatly around him, the wing bones mended and the membrane still growing back in healthily.

Sky hugged him hard, followed quickly by everyone else. _Everyone _was crying, including Fearless himself. Raphael dried his tears as best he could, but then one of the group in the hug would shift or say something, and they'd burst out all over again.

Finally, they separated. Mikey and Sky, though, each held onto a part of Leo, who had Lionel in his left arm. His right was wrapped up, the stump wiggling slightly at odd times.

"Well, my sons, you are four again," Master Splinter announced. "It is good to have you back, Leonardo."

"It is better, I assure you, to be back, Sensei," Leo said, smiling. "How is everyone?"

"We're good. We were worried to death," Raph said, trying to be angry with his brother and utterly failing. "But you pulled through, like you always do. When do you start rehab?"

"I'm scheduled for tomorrow, actually. Sebraka was… Quite insistent." Leo raised his eye ridges meaningfully. "I'm starting with the shoulders, then the wings, and then my arm. They want me to be able to catch myself if I fall before they start with the leg." He chuckled, joined by a nervous Mikey.

"How're you feeling?" Raphael asked, checking the display on the back of the chair that hooked into Leo's shell. It showed a strong pulse, if a little fast, and overwhelming happiness levels.

"Good. A little sore, still, but otherwise fine. Thank you a lot, Raphael, for your hospitality and assistance."

"It was the least we could do," Sebraka said, joining them. "And you are going back to bed, young man!"

"I'm a turtle. Er, turtle-dragon." Leo smirked but then gulped when Sebraka grabbed the edge of his chair and yanked. He spun around to face the door; the chair was calibrated to do as she commanded it, and this was one of those things.

"Bye!" he had time to call before Sebraka pushed him out of the dojo. He could hear Raphael chuckling still as Sebraka pushed him back to the infirmary. He was transferred by pulleys onto the bed and lay down, glad for the chance to rest. This was his second day out of bed, and the first on his own. Sebraka said that he was recovering faster than she had thought possible.

_Meanwhile…_

Mikey smirked as he sat back down, ready to accept that Leo would be okay, finally. Sky sat near him, absently stroking Lionel's plastron in a soothing way. Raph nodded goodbye and left, probably heading for the kids' rooms to tell them that their favorite winged turtle would be okay. They had all been worried; at least, those who could be had worried. He had promised to take them on flying rides, and they wanted to go.

Don headed for the tech room, where scientists were constructing Leo's new arm. They were done with the shoulder braces that would keep his shoulders from moving too much. He needed intense therapy before he would be able to do much.

Master Splinter, April, and Casey decided to take a walk around the grounds. That left Mikey and Sky to find something to do.

_We're getting soft,_ Mikey chuckled to himself, standing. "I'm gonna go for a run in the woods. When Leo's back in shape, he'll whip _us_ into shape and I'd rather have that covered. Need anything?" he asked Sky.

"No, I'll just feed Lionel and put him to bed. It's time for his mid-afternoon nap."

"Okay. I'll be back in a while." Mikey strutted out, taking his nunchucks out of sheer habit. _Nothing_ prowled these woods, not after Raph was done. He had gone on a hunting rampage after Leo was stable enough to risk having Raph leave. He had followed every single game trail and knew these woods inside out now. Anything suspicious was knocked out and taken in for identification. The animals had learned over the last few months that nothing got within ten feet of the house without a Sai hitting it somewhere.

Mikey chortled to himself as he chose a trail at random and started running. He was careful to avoid the branches and roots, not wanting to fall so early in the exercise. He passed startled deer who only heard him when he was right on top of them.

Unconsciously, Mikey homed in on the smell of water and twisted through the trees gracefully. He soon spilled out into a meadow with a crystal-clear pool at the center. Smiling happily, he took a running leap and cannon-balled in, the cool water hitting him with a shock. He opened his eyes underwater and looked around a bit.

A small turtle swam away, following a few tiny fish that moved very quickly. In the mud, various rocks and plants were sitting, swaying with the "current" Mikey had caused. The mutant turtle unrolled himself and kicked his legs, shooting back out. He gasped in air and then turned onto his stomach, floating for a while. He could hold his breath for a very long time, so by the time his lungs were burning, thighs were hot from the sun even underwater.

He swam slowly to shore, relaxed and willing to just float there all day if he didn't have an afternoon training session with Alastha, who was teaching him to manipulate energy to his will with a finite control that left Mikey stunned. She had also showed him how to remove all of the energy from a being and kill it, demonstrating on a plant. Mikey had been pretty traumatized; he had _Felt_ the plant die and it was the worst feeling he'd ever had. He vowed not to do it again.

Suddenly, he realized that it was very quite. He looked up and around. Nothing _seemed_ out of the ordinary. He crawled out of the pool and stood, getting an uneasy feeling in the middle of his stomach.

A sharp pain pierced his arm and he looked down. A needle dart stuck out of his muscles; he shook his head.

Then he communed with the unfriendly ground.

**A/N: Sorry, it's kinda long, but I wanted to get this over with and this WAS a natural pause in the grand scheme. Tune in next time!**


	20. Trouble with Children

"That's it, bend the elbow slowly

"That's it, bend the elbow slowly. Back to straight. Bend again." The therapist continued with the slow exercises, nearly driving Leo insane. The hurt turtle knew, though, that he had to do this or risk losing _all_ feeling and movement in his arm. They had the metal arm hooked up to him. He looked at it again; the design was sooth and sleek, looked like his old arm, and painted black to match his scales. But there was no doubt it was metallic; the three fingers weren't calloused with years of ninjistsu and sword-handling, the forearm didn't have black scales.

"That's enough for today. It's your first day," the therapist said firmly when Leo started to argue. Leo grumbled but nodded in thanks, since bowing was out of the question without being able to stand up, and maneuvered out of the large room in his chair. He was left with the metal arm, in the hopes that he could recover quicker if he had to use it on a daily basis.

"Hey, Raph!" he called, seeing the turtle walking away.

"Leo! How're you feeling?" Raph asked, smiling. The hothead had become more open and loving since he had accepted Donnie as his Kalian, and didn't hesitate to show that he loved his brothers anymore.

"A bit sore," Leo shrugged.

"I saw you. Lookin' good, Fearless," Raph laughed, thumping Leo's metal arm meaningfully. "Keep practicing and you'll be able to wipe the floor with Mikey during training."

"When I'm allowed to," Leo muttered darkly. Raph raised an eyebrow. "Where is Mikey?"

"Huh. Don't know. He went to the forest – let's see, yesterday. After you left, after our reunion. Haven't seen him since." Raph suddenly got a bad feeling. "I don't know where he is."

"Mikey wouldn't run off, not at a time like this. I bet he came in and you didn't hear him," Leo said, trying to explain away his instinctive fear for his youngest brother. "He's probably prowling the kitchen. Or out on another walk. He likes those woods."

"Yeah, he does. And they're safe, now." Raph grinned savagely. He'd made sure of his family's survival – and the survival of his counterpart's extended family – and he hadn't even felt the urge to drink the blood of any of the animals he'd stabbed or killed outright. Well, he'd felt it, but he hadn't _acted_ on it, and that was the important thing.

"Yeah; every animal runs from _anything_ turtle-shaped," Leo joked. He yawned and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. Third day out of bed. What can I say?"

"Go on, bro, get some rest. I'll look around for Mikey." Leo nodded and rolled away; Raph watched him go with remorse. _Such a fighter, reduced to this. He seems to be taking it well, better than I thought he would. _

Raph remembered when Leo was thrown through a window, barely alive. It had scarred him terribly, both physically and mentally. Frowning, he headed for the lab, where Don probably was.

He found Donatello and Donnie there, looking at a diagram and a machine on a table, back and forth. Raph leaned against the wall and watched the two work together silently before clearing his throat.

"Raph!" Don spun around and grinned sheepishly. "I didn't hear you."

"Obviously. How're you two?"

"Good," Donatello answered, not looking up from his work at the machine. "This is Leo's new leg. Like it?"

Raph looked it over and decided he wanted one. He could identify the technology as highly advanced thanks to Don's twiddling with Utrom electronics. Also, he noted that the "foot" was very much like Leo's old foot, with slight claws.

"We modeled it after his organic leg," Donatello explained, tweaking another component. "So, you see, this is quite the leg. We've also installed some new software your genius of a brother invented. It works with the signals from Leo and makes his leg act even more realistically. So, for instance, he can soften or harden impact like he normally would be able to."

"That's amazing, Don," Raph applauded. "Leave it to you to take alien technology and advance it."

"Hmm…" Donatello stared at the leg for a moment before speaking again. "Yes, it is. I have offered him a job at my college, but Don thinks he is best suited to life with you "crazy hooligans"."

"I object," Don gasped playfully. "I said they were "hooligans", not "crazy hooligans"."

"But you did call us hooligans. Speaking of hooligans, have you seen Mikey?" Raph asked, just remembering the reason he had come here.

"Yeah… No…" Don stopped working and looked at the ceiling. "Last time I saw him was yesterday morning, he went out for a walk."

"I haven't seen him, either," Donatello added, worried. "It's not like him to be gone for so long. Have you checked with Leo?"

"Yeah, and he said he hasn't seen him, either. In fact, he was the one who alerted me to Mikey's absence."

"He could be sulking around in the woods. You know his moods have become erratic, or at least, more so."

"Yeah, but I wonder where he is. Thanks, guys, I'll go ask Alastha."

"Alright. She's in our rooms, I think," Donatello called, bending back to the task at hand. Don joined him, muttering something about circuitry, and Raph smirked and left.

_Genius by nature, scientist by character,_ Raph thought to himself. _Brother by bond._

He got a guide in the form of a small eight-year-old child who was stalking the halls unhappily.

"Where're you supposed to be?" Raph asked angrily, startling the little one out of his hiding place behind a beam. The turtle-human hybrid hung his head and mumbled something. "Speak louder," Raph snapped. He knew this one well; Zathar, Donatello's second-oldest. He had quite the temper already, and snapped right back defiantly.

"What's it to _you_?"

Raph sneered and grabbed the young boy by the collar, hoisting him up effortlessly. For all his loud talk, Zathar was a small child. Zathar stared him in the eye, his small hands grasping at Raph's larger ones.

"I am your elder, _runt_, so you _will_ respect me," Raph growled. "Furthermore, I've had enough of your attitude and you will _answer _me without any more disrespect. And then we'll see you back where you belong."

Zathar was silent. A slow, evil smile spread across Raph's face. _Now _Zathar was a little worried. "Well, if that's the way you want it… Your father gave me _expressive_ permission to train this attitude out of you. Prepare, _boy_, for the worst day of your life."

"I'm supposed to be at weapons practice with Master Onshi!" Zathar said hurriedly. He was hoping that Raph would let him go there, since he knew that Raph was a relentless fighter and trainer, even worse, it was rumored, than Leonardo had been.

Zathar had seen the scars on these new turtles and was impressed. They lived dangerously, it looked like. Their lightning-fast reaction time, incredible "ninja speed", and silent travel were testaments to that.

Zathar had snuck up on Mikey once, and learned soon that Mikey had _let_ the young turtle sneak up on him. Zathar had planned to pull a prank including some sneezing power, but before he could even uncap the bottle from his position above the sleeping turtle, he found himself in a headlock, easily put out of commission. The onlookers, including Mikey's brothers and their counterparts, had all snickered when Mikey, in retaliation, dumped the sneezing powder on Zathar instead.

"Ah, Onshi won't mind my stealing you." Zathar felt his heart plummet. "But we'll tell him you were sneaking away anyway."

"No, no, please," Zathar pleaded, but Raphael gripped his arm powerfully and steered him towards the dojo. When they got there, Zathar tried to bolt, which only ended in Raph picking him up and flinging the small turtle over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Raph walked into the dojo like this; Zathar heard the shocked silence and wished he could die.

"Onshi, pardon me for interrupting." Zathar tried to break free again as Raph bowed, but Raph slammed him onto the mat and put a foot on his shell, pinning him there.

"I see you are returning a student who seems to have forgotten his lesson," Onshi chuckled heartily.

"Not quite, Master," Raphael alleged dryly. "I was hoping I could steal him for a while."

"By all means, please do." Onshi's twinkling eyes told Raph that he was no stranger to Zathar's rogue attitude. "You may have him for as long as you like. I'll send a note to his other teachers this afternoon."

"Thank you," Raph said, picking Zathar up again and moving to another section of the dojo. Zathar was soon cursing the turtle heartily – and mentally – as he was forced to run laps, do amazing amounts of pushups, and sprint, spar, tackle, wrestle, and generally beat himself up.

Raph kept roaring angrily at him, insisting that, "By your age, I was able to run around _New York City_!" Zathar didn't know what "New York City" was, but he supposed it was a large place.

As he was forced to do another hundred push-ups, Zathar felt his arms giving. One the fiftieth one, Zathar collapsed, unable to do more than shake and breathe. Raph hauled him upwards.

"Pathetic," Raph grunted. "You, _boy_, are a disgrace to your family."

"Well, I'm _sorry_ we weren't brought up in a sewer and had to scrounge in the garbage for food!" Zathar snapped back, royally pissed. Raph's eyes shuttered and narrowed, and Zathar knew he was in trouble.

"You will train with me for the rest of the month," Raph ground out. "You will show respect whether you like it or not. No, you didn't grow up in the sewers of New York. No, you've never been in a fight. No, you've never killed someone with your hands. Yes, you are a pompous, arrogant brat."

"I _have_ been in a fight," Zathar insisted, snobbishly.

"Come with me, kid," Raph said, grabbing his arm. He stopped by Donnie's shop and explained the situation. Don agreed to help him with a little demonstration and went to grab his Bo.

He took Zathar out to a clearing in the yard, with soft grass to cushion someone's fall. It was time to teach him a lesson.


	21. Lessons Learned

"You haven't been in a fight, kid," Raph growled, sitting Zathar down and standing in front of him, arms crossed angrily

"You haven't been in a fight, kid," Raph growled, sitting Zathar down and standing in front of him, arms crossed angrily.

"Yes, I have. Master Onshi took me to a competition and I fought against a whole squad! I won, too. I'm the best ninja in this house."

"Arrogant little peacock," Don muttered to Raph as he came up, twirling his Bo.

"Let me tell you a story, kid. Once, there was a student of ninjistsu. His name was Leonardo."

"Is this your brother? If so, he probably got his shell handed to him by a thug," Zathar snorted. "Seriously. He was nearly killed by _one_ opponent. Pathetic, if you ask me."

"No one's asking you. Leo is the best ninja in our world, and he's probably the best here. The bladed thing was strong, fast, and more importantly, it had the element of surprise. Leo wasn't armed. Considering all that, it's a miracle he's alive," Don corrected, holding his temper.

Raph took a deep breath and continued the story.

"Leonardo left one morning on a training run across the rooftops. He was running along Seventh Avenue when he was suddenly surrounded by a horde of ninjas. The Foot ninjas, that's what they're called, were all armed. There were at least a hundred. He fought valiantly and beat them all back.

"He was herded by more Foot away from his home, fighting and fighting for hours on end. Leo faced Hun, a huge giant with the strength of two bulls. Leo beat him. He faced Foot Tech, which can disappear. Leo beat them. Finally, he faced Foot _Elite_. Each Elite is worth one of us; now quadruple that and add into the equation that Leo had been fighting for his life for the entire day by now. The four Foot Elite attacked. Leo hung on, just barely.

"He was tossed through a window into April's apartment, broken, battered, and bleeding. You've seen him, right?" Zathar nodded. "He was like that, except with all of his limbs and no wings."

"He didn't run away," Zathar snorted.

"Didn't you hear me? He was _herded_. He couldn't have run; they would have killed him."

"He could have escaped. If he's such a great ninja, he could have escaped."

"I'm obviously not getting through with words. How about you watch a _real_ fight. Don and I will _fight_. Not spar, not compete, _fight_. If we mess up, we get hurt. No practice weapons, nothing. His Bo against my Sai."

"That's not fair," Zathar snorted. "Bos stink. They're wooden sticks. Oooh, so scary. Sai are real weapons."

"Don has crushed skulls with that very weapon," Raph said mercilessly. "Blood, guts, brains, entrails… You name it, it's been on there. My Sai have been plunged into men's' chests up to the hilt. They've been inside heads, up stomachs, under ribs. Leo's katana? Same story. They've decapitated hundreds of people, been thrown _through_ people, and buried inside people. Mikey's nunchucks have done the same things as Don's Bo. They've cracked heads open, broken bones, and shattered ribs."

Zathar looked a bit sick.

"And that's not all. I've been shot, stabbed, nearly hung, beat within an inch of my life. Don's been nearly crushed, almost made into soup, shot and stabbed. Mikey's been nearly torn apart, crushed, beaten, shot, stabbed. Leo… You name it, he's been there. He's been hung until he was unconscious and we had to resuscitate him. We've all been tortured with cruel experiments, branded by a scientist named Bishop. Leo's shell and plastron were _torn off and replaced._ They weren't made that way."

"Furthermore, we've been killing regularly since we were ten," Don continued. "It's a hard life, but it teaches you a lot. We're all at risk. One false move, one errant action, and one of us could die. If one of us messes up, one of us will die. And it probably _won't_ be the one who messed up. It's a vicious cycle, but it's our life."

"It sucks," Zathar spat. "Besides, I've heard your stories. You're fighting isn't ninjistsu."

"We fight with anything and everything we've got because in the real world, that's what it takes. When you fight for your life, you don't use katas. You use killing moves, pure and simple. You use anything. I've been hit with crowbars, pipes, gun butts, shoes, pocket change, hell, I've had a _dog_ thrown at me. I've punched people's heads in. I've felt their skulls _break under my knuckles_." Raph knew he was actually handling this quite well, so he allowed himself to rant a bit more. "I've seen _children_ being raped, murdered, abused. Hell, I've seen _infants_ raped and murdered."

"Then I pity you," Zathar huffed. "You should have gotten out of there."

"Don't pity us," Don said. "We pity you all. You'll never know what it's like to be so close to a brother that you can hear their thoughts. You'll never know what it's like to have that relief that no one was hurt badly after a fight. You'll never see the world as one beautiful place."

"You've fought thugs, ninjas, and all that sort of shit and you're willing to say the world is beautiful. You ask me, you're all crazy," Zathar pointed out.

Raph sighed and shook his head. "You'll never know the feeling of seeing a mother reunited with her lost son, not knowing you saved him. You'll never see couples walking in the park. You'll never sit on a rooftop in the rain and be glad it's dark. You'll never hear your brother sneak up on you and pour something on your head just because. You'll never hide in your brother's bed when a nightmare hits, or when the lair shakes from an earthquake. You'll never see the _good_ in some people. _That's_ why we pity you: You'll never see beauty, true beauty. You'll see hints of it, maybe when your first child is born or you find the love of your live. But you'll never experience it like we have."

"You sound like you're a drug addict."

Raph was through trying to explain; he faced Don. Zathar waited, watching for the customary bow. However, Don had barely turned his attention to Raph when Raph attacked.

Don battered him away, not saving his strikes but going all-out. Raph rolled and came back up, unsheathing his Sai. Don twirled his Bo and swung it, full force, at his head. Raph ducked; Don's staff followed.

They sped up, twisting, ducking, and turning in a deadly dance that had nothing to do with honor. If Raph saw an opening, he took it. If Donnie could, he smacked Raph with his Bo, as hard as he would if Raph were a Foot Elite.

Raph finally saw his opening and dove forward, batting the Bo aside and striking Don's chest with his Sai, the tip just barely scratching the plastron. They both knew that was a killing blow, and Don fell to his knees immediately. Raph tapped his neck with his Sai and then sheathed it and helped Donnie to his feet.

"That's only an imitation. The real deal is much worse. There's more enemies, and they're usually armed with sharp things. Had that been a Foot Elite, I would have died several times because a sword cuts while a Bo smacks," Raph said, turning back to Zathar. The younger turtle was trying desperately to seem indifferent, but they could both see the admiration and terror in his eyes.

Without another word, Raph walked away. _Let him figure this out now,_ he thought to himself as Don jogged up to him. Zathar sat in the grass, and as far as Raph cared, he could _stay_ there.

"I'm getting soft," Raph grunted, rubbing a sore shoulder. Donnie looked at it on the foot and pronounced it only a little pulled.

"I am, too," Don confessed. "I would have been dead so many times."

"Same here. Once Fearless is back in action, we should hurry up and find Leonardo and end this. Go home. I miss New York."

"Me, too," Don assured him. "But it'll be a while. Speaking of which, have you found Mikey?"

Raph slapped himself; he'd totally forgotten about his mission. "No," he groaned.

"That's okay; let's go look together."

They first headed for Alastha's quarters. Raph knocked on her door gently.

"Yes?" Alastha opened and door and ushered them into a plush living room. They sat down at her invitation and accepted the offer of some drink but declined food. "So, what's going on?"

"We just drilled a few lessons on real life into Zathar," Don muttered. "That boy is as respectful as… as…"

"As Zathar is," Alastha sighed, nodding. "I know. Do you think he listened?"

"I think he did," Raph chuckled, rubbing his shoulder. "We came here to learn if you've seen Mikey?"

"No… Not since the meeting yesterday. I excused his absence from his lessons, but he isn't here today, either." _Now _Raph began to worry.

"We haven't seen him, neither has Leo or Donatello."

"Maybe ask Lea; she was pretty attached to him. She should be at dinner right now."

"Okay; thanks, Alastha." Don grinned and stood again, followed by Raph. They hadn't gotten their promised drinks, but finding Mikey was paramount.

They went into the dining hall and looked around. Don spotted Lea towards the back, obviously uncomfortable with the loud kids around her.

"Lea," Raph shouted over the din. "Can I speak with you?" Lea nodded and looked relieved at the excuse to get out of there. She put her half-full plate in the deposit neatly and followed them out.

"Lea, have you seen Mikey recently?" Don asked once they were in the quiet of the hallway. Lea shook her head shyly.

"No," she whispered, looking at her shoes. "Not for a couple days. Is he okay?"

"We don't know," Raph said softly, now _really_ worried. "Sorry to take you from dinner. I'm sure he's in the woods somewhere. I'll talk to Raphael."

Lea slunk away, moving with a silence that unnerved Raph. She was only ten years old, after all.

"Well, I'm curious. Where's Mikey?" Don asked, following Raph to Raphael's room. The red-banded turtle knocked and his counterpart answered immediately with an invitation to enter.

"Hi, Raphael. Have you seen Mikey?" Raph asked, coming in and sitting as Raphael motioned for him to do. The older turtle was sitting behind his desk, looking at some papers. He looked up slowly.

"Nooo…" He dragged the words out, pursing his lips in thought. "Not since the reunion." Raphael's eyes unfocused and then refocused with alarming speed. "I can't feel him, either! And my range covers all of these lands, plus a bit."

"So… Where's Mikey?"

Raph had the sneaking suspicion that this wasn't going to be a game of "Where's Waldo?".


	22. Chapter 22

Don and Raph spent the rest of the day looking for Mikey around the house

Don and Raph spent the rest of the day looking for Mikey around the house. They went out that night and looked for him in the forest. Come morning, both were tired and ready to admit defeat.

"We shouldn't tell Leo yet," Raph said as the two went back to their rooms, sneaking through the hallways like the ninja master they were. "He'd just get worried."

"And distracted, and Alastha would have our tails," Don agreed. He opened the door to his room very softly. Inside, the lights were out, and Don sensed that they were alone. He rushed in and collapsed on the bed. "I call a nap."

"Same here, after a shower." Raph chuckled and disappeared into the shower. Don smiled as Raph's bass singing reached his ears and the water turned on without a squeak from the faucet like at home.

When Raph got out again, Don forced himself to take a shower. It was a quick one, with the water cooler than Don usually liked it, but it helped his aching muscles. _Smart one, Don. First a fight and then an all-nighter run through woods. You're a real brainiac._

He stifled a groan as he dropped into bed. From his bed on the other side of the room, Raph's snores nearly shook the walls. Don smiled, amazed still that he could sleep though such a thing, and closed his eyes.

_Noon…_

"Raph? Don?" a soft voice called. Don woke up out of habit of waking to that voice.

"What, Leo?" Raph grumped, covering his head with his pillow.

"Why are you guys still asleep? It's lunch time by now." Leo rolled into the room and looked at them like they were crazy.

"We're _not_ asleep, thanks to you, Fearless."

"Okay, why _were_ you asleep?" Leo persisted.

"We pulled a fight off – a real one for Zathar to show him that it's not all fun and games. Then we spent the night looking-" Don just barely caught himself.

"Looking for _what_?" Leo asked curiously.

"None of your business, Fearless, now go to rehab and let us sleep!"

"Looking for _what?_" The injured turtle kept prying, and Raph thought, _So help me, I'm gonna smack him. I will. Watch me._ But he couldn't get the energy to even raise his hand up.

"Nothing, Leo. Go to rehab."

"Looking for _what?_" Leo repeated. Raph growled. "Guys, I know you. Raph would do such a thing just 'cause. Don, you'd only stay up all night if you were in the lab, and I checked; you left it yesterday and never went back."

"We were looking for Mikey, okay, Fearless?" Raph buried his head back into his pillow, kicking himself repeatedly.

"Why? Where is Mikey? I haven't seen him in a while." Leo rolled closed to Raph, who in response sat up, knowing it was useless now.

"We were looking for Mikey because we don't _know_ where he is, Fearless. Raphael couldn't feel him. We searched the grounds last night; not there. No trace of him, in fact. Last time anyone saw him, he was going into the woods. We searched all night and are really, really tired."

"Why didn't you tell me you thought he was missing?" Leo demanded in an authoritative voice. "For all you know, he could have been captured by Leonardo!"

"We weren't that worried," Don explained. "But I think you're right. Let's go talk to Raphael."

Raph groaned but hauled himself out of bed.

_Elsewhere…_

The turtle huddled in the small cell, unaware of the watcher above. _If I ever get out of here, I won't ever stray again_, Mikey promised himself, looking around though he knew this cell by now. He couldn't tell how long he had been stuck in the square room, eight by eight by eight feet with nothing but a small bucket in one corner that stank already from previous occupants. At least, that's what Mikey hoped.

Nothing was in this cell except that bucket. The walls were scrubbed clean, the floor, too. The single light was a bulb in the ceiling, uselessly high for a shorter turtle.

He had woken up in here, his last memory being of swimming in the pond, getting out, and feeling something hit him. Since then, he'd been sitting here.

He felt like it had been a while, but wasn't sure. His foot tapped in fright and confusion. _If this were Stockman, Bishop, or Shredder, I'd know because they'd be gloating in my face,_ Mikey consoled himself. _So, who is this?_

Suddenly, the door clanged. Mikey jumped to his feet as a familiar figure came in, closing the door softly behind him. The figure raised one scaled hand and Mikey felt his heart stop.

He dropped again an instant later and the figure chuckled.

_Above…_

Leonardo snorted as the small turtle fell. _Stupid, stupid, stupid,_ he berated himself. _I have _no_ idea who this is. Brilliant one, Leonardo. Just waltz onto Sebraka's property and take a turtle you've never seen before. You had your chance to grab Raphael – hell, even Michelangelo or Donatello would have been better. No, you had to grab this piece of sorry flesh._

He looked down again and saw the torturer raise his whip. Grinning, Leonardo walked away, metal feet clunking heavily on the floor. He entered his lab and looked around before smirking and crossing to a console.

_Well, it's better than nothing. He's young and easy to deceive. We'll torture him until he screams _something_, and then use that. If he screams the name of a brother… I will have to spy on Sebraka's house to find that brother's look. Well, then, I think we'll be in action soon. _

_He is kinda young_, a deeper voice said in his head.

_Shut up!_ Leonardo growled, smashing a computer with his fist. That voice was his old self, always trying to fight against him.

_He's just a kid, Leo,_ the voice insisted. _Just a frightened kid. He's eighteen, max. He's innocent; he probably was just swimming around._

_Any turtle here is my enemy!_ Leonardo roared at the voice inside, cursing it thoroughly as well.

_Those who live without honor, die without honor,_ the voice reminded him. _You are dishonorable and have shamed the clan. You have shamed me, Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello, Beth, High Sensei Splinter-san, Master Sensei Yoshi. The list is endless. You let down everyone you ever cared for, everyone you ever _touched_._

_Shut _up! Leonardo stormed out, and everyone was quick to stay away from him. In one of his fits of rage, he could easily tear the building down and kill everyone inside.

"Master," a voice suddenly squeaked, "the prisoner has told us something of… value, I believe." The torturer assigned to the small turtle was groveling in front of Leonardo, who was now sitting in his throne.

"Good. Report!" Leonardo focused on the man with an intensity that would scare most humans into blabbering maniacs. However, the man was used to such things and merely bowed his head even further into the floor before answering.

"He has screamed two names. He screamed "Kavara!" and "Leo!" I assume they are one and the same, for he was also blathering about "mother dragon" and "big brother" in the same context."

"Very well. Continue the treatment until you get something more. We will work with this for now." The man bowed again and backed out, still bowing. Leonardo summoned his general with his left hand, and the young man who was almost as evil as Leonardo himself stepped forward from the shadows.

"Milord?" The young man bowed deeply.

"Assemble the troops, but keep them here. I will be gone for a few days, and you are in charge until I get back, General Masuki. We will storm my brothers' strong hold soon."

"Yes, milord." Masuki bowed and walked out, slightly agitated but calm otherwise.

Leonardo stood and headed for his rooms, intending to recharge fully before attempting a spying mission.

_My brothers, you will rue the day you thought me dead,_ he promised himself. He had learned from his own enemies back when he fought with his brothers that to talk out loud often signaled doom. He rarely spoke unless issuing orders, sending many messages by text that scrolled through the computers in all of the hallways. Summons were sent that way, as were orders for an attendant, spy, or such.

Leonardo smirked as he took off the heavy armor and walked over to the smaller computer console that was his "bed". He lay on the table and put his arms into the straps; they would recharge him while his organic body slept.


	23. Chapter 23

Leonardo glared around

Leonardo glared around. He was on the edges of Raphael's range, he knew it because he could poke at Raphael's mind without alerting the turtle. Closing his eyes, he built a Shield around his mind that would keep anything from Feeling him unless he wanted them to or they were looking _really_ hard.

He stepped forward, and when no alarm bells from Raphael brushed his mind, he smirked and started running silently. He was soon within sight of the mansion, and turned on his camouflage. Carefully, he hid in the shadows in the trees surrounding the manicured lawn and waited for some activity. He was in luck; two turtles soon came galloping out the door. Apparently, they were running from something.

He didn't recognize the two kids, but he knew the one following _very_ well.

_Raphael…_ Leonardo's brother was chasing after the kids with a grin on his face, obviously not worried. _Do they even realize their brother is missing?_

Suddenly, Raphael looked up and Leonardo followed his look. Coming down the stairs was something – correction, some_one_.

The turtle – it had a metal plastron and shell, as far as Leonardo could tell – was in a wheel chair. He seemed to be black-skinned, but what caught his attention were the missing leg and arm, and the wings that fanned out behind the newcomer. His eyes were covered with thick black goggles.

_Who are _you_? You're too old to be a child._ Leonardo watched the turtle as Raphael came up to him. Leonardo turned up his hearing and listened in.

"Leo, you should be in rehab," Raphael scolded.

_Leo? As in, Leonardo?_ Leonardo almost laughed out loud. _So, I must have caught _his_ Michelangelo._

"Mikey's missing, Raphael. Raph and Don are getting breakfast, and then we're going to search for him." Leo had a deep, hoarse voice.

"You mean, we are," Raphael growled. _Your voice hasn't changed after all these years, little brothers._

"No. He's my Kalian, Raphael, and I _will_ find him. I've Searched and can't find him mentally. Therefore, I will do it physically." Leonardo wondered at the strange word, storing it and "writing a note" to remind him to look it up later.

"No, you won't, Leo. You're on your fourth day out of bed after months of critical condition. You're staying here if we have to knock you out. Mikey wouldn't be very pleased to hear that, would he, now?"

"If he was captured, Raphael, I have a right to find him. As his Kavara, I'm his best friend, even more than that!"

_And you just signed his doom,_ Leonardo chuckled. _Interesting. This "Kavara" thing seems to mean a lot to these two._

Just then, two more turtles – younger, like eighteen – came out, grumbling. They looked like Donatello and Raphael, and when Raphael addressed them, Leonardo was confirmed in his suspicions.

"Don, Raph, did you search the forest?" Raphael demanded.

"Yeah, why else are we so tired?" Raph snapped. _Oh ho, this one has a temper!_ Raph wore a blacked-out red mask, and his Sai were red-handled. _Typical._

"We were out all night, searching," Don explained. "Couldn't find a trace of him. And I know you couldn't Feel him."

"No, I'm afraid not. We'll go to the police station right now."

Leo turned his wheelchair and started rolling for the garage.

"Hey! No, Leo, you're not coming," Raphael scolded, putting a hand on Leo's shoulder. "You're injured."

"So?" Raphael had to walk quickly to keep up with Leo, Don and Raph following closely behind. "He's my Kalian and I _will_ find him."

"You _will_ stay here."

"I agree, Leo. You'd just be a liability in any fights. Sebraka!" Don jolted as the woman Healer suddenly charged out of the house. Leo winced visibly and turned sulkily back towards the house.

"Thanks for the warning, Raphael." Sebraka turned vicious, un-amused eyes on Leo. "You, young man, are going _back to rehab_ this _instant!_"

"Yes, Sebraka." Leo sighed and looked back at his brothers. "Please find him, guys." He was pushed by Sebraka back towards the house. Don and Raph chuckled as they followed Raphael to the garage.

_Well, I've got all I need to begin my plan,_ Leonardo chortled. He backed up as the noise from the car drowned any noise he could have made out and then ran back to his lair, not wanting to wait until he could implement his plan.

_Five months later…_ (**A/N: Didn't have room to put in all descriptions of five months and keep this under fifty chapters…)**

Leo looked out the window again, sighing heavily. He stood up and walked four paces, then back to his chair. He did this regularly, to get used to the new leg. He hardly noticed the difference in the feel of using it, but he knew that it was very different.

Mikey was still missing in action, and it showed on Leo. He was depressed and snapped easily, and Raph was beginning to get worried about Fearless. Don was past the point of, "it's time to begin worrying now" and was at, "I'm panicking, I'm panicking".

Leo growled and rubbed his metal hand, a motion that was now a habit when he was worried.

Raph peeking into Leo's room and sighed loudly, catching the attention of their leader. He walked in as Leo glared at him – at least, that's what Raph supposed he was doing, since Leo's black goggles made it impossible to tell.

"Hey, Leo, come on. We're gonna go look in the forest again." Raph knew that they wouldn't find anything, but it might help Leo run off some energy. "You and me, bro."

"Where's Don?" Leo walked over, a bit stiff on his left leg but that was expected. He rolled his shoulders and winced; the wing bones were fused back together, but they were still sore and he was forbidden from flying or using them much. His horns had grown back in, and the damaged scales were fixed, the ones that had been torn off, replaced.

"He's working with Donatello on a program that will scan this world for out kind of mutagen, since it's one of a kind here. They're having problems finding something to bounce the program from, though." As he talked, Raph walked towards the outside. Leo deviated from the course and stopped by the nursery, where Lionel was playing.

Raph watched silently as Leo wove his way through the toddlers playing and picked up his one-year-old son. Lionel had blue eyes like his mother, but his scales and tiny wings were obvious signs that Leo was his father.

Leo threw him into the air and caught him again, Lionel squealing in delight.

"Dada!" Lionel's first word had been "Dada", followed soon by "Mama". He could now say, "Unca Waph, Unca Mikey, and Unca Don", too. He constantly spoke, hardly stopping even in his sleep.

"Hey, Lionel," Leo laughed, smiling at his son. "How're you?"

"Good." Lionel put his hand on Leo's scales. "Dada!"

"Son." Leo put his finger on Lionel's chest. "Dada's gotta go now, but you stay here and play nicely."

Lionel looked different from the other turtle-human kids, but they played with him. Only the older ones teased him, and he was too young to understand that yet. However, the older ones were being punished nonetheless, because if Lionel took after his father, he would get big quickly.

Leo turned around and walked back out, dodging thrown balls and toys that weren't aimed for him but managed to find their way into his path regardless.

"You're really lucky, Leo," Raph said softly, watching the children. Lionel was playing with Stefan, Raphael's youngest, and Michel (Michelangelo's youngest). Michel was just older than Lionel, and both showed signs of being best friends.

"I know. I'm glad I didn't lose this chance to be a father," Leo murmured, heading outside. He wore his katana on his shell even though Sebraka had said that he didn't need to. He'd explained, "Old habits die hard, especially when they saved your life a lot."

"Uh huh." Raph followed Leo outside, stopping a servant and telling her that they were going out and to pass the message on to Raphael.

Beth and Sky were enjoying the sun; Leo said hello and then turned to the forest. He sighed and reached down to his metal leg.

Since Leo didn't always walk in forests, Don and Donatello had calibrated the leg for several uses. One of the "settings" was for normal walking around; less sensitive and therefore, more energy efficient. Leo had to plug in his leg and arm every night to make sure they charged and were at a hundred percent the next day, just in case.

He touched a panel and pressed one of the five buttons. His leg vibrated for a moment, whirring as it reset itself, and then beeped.

He did the same to his arm and then nodded. "I'm ready, finally." He kissed Sky gently and then turned with Raph. They looked at each other, slow smiles crossing their beaks.

"Bet I can beat you," Leo challenged.

"In your dreams, Fearless. I've been running these woods for months." With that, Raph took off, followed quickly by a squawking, "That's unfair!" Leo.

Sky laughed, glad to see Leo enjoying himself a bit. She turned her head to Beth and said, "Husbands. The best and worst thing in the world."

"Especially when they're turtles," Beth agreed.

"Oh, believe me. A winged dragon-turtle is _much_ worse," Sky giggled.

Leo heard the exchange and laughed to himself, jumping over a root and landing on his metal leg. He stumbled a bit, but righted himself and continued smoothly. Raph was running right in front of him. They both knew they weren't going at top speed since they were looking for signs of their little brother.

They came into a clearing with a clear pool in the center. Raph headed straight for it; Leo followed but stopped at the edge. He didn't fancy a dunk with his injuries.

Raph shot by him, having turned around for more speed, and launched himself in the air, coming down in a cannon-ball.

Leo gasped as the water splashed him; it was cold! He growled as Raph's head poked out of the water, laughing.

"Hardy har har, Raph," Leo grumped, brushing himself off as much as he could. "Pojay."

"What now?" Raph climbed out and lay on his plastron in the grass. Leo turned his leg setting back to normal and joined him.

"Don't know. Donatello uses it a lot. Seems to mean someone annoying or a dork."

"In that case, I'm offended." Raph cuffed Leo lightly, who smirked.

"Don't be; I gave you a compliment." Leo chuckled as Raph stuck his tongue out at the larger turtle, but suddenly his head jerked up and he looked around.

"Whatcha smell?"

"It can't be…" Leo surged to his feet and quickly ran off, stiffly because he hadn't reset the leg. Raph exclaimed and ran after him.

Leo led them on a bee-line for a larger clearing Raph had marked as the home for a herd of fat deer. He called it Herd's Meadow.

When they got there, Raph nearly crowed in triumph. Lying in the grass, scraped and hurt but breathing, lay Mikey. Leo was crouching next to him, checking Mikey for injuries worse than a few bumps and bruises.

Their little brother was out cold and stripped of everything he had, but alive. Raph knelt next to Mikey and put his hand on his little brother's shell.

"Let's get Kalian home," Leo whispered, putting his arms under Mikey. Raph glared at him and pushed his arms away.

"You can't lift heavy loads yet, Leo, and even little Mikey would be too much. I'll carry him; you run home and tell them to set up the infirmary."

Reluctantly, Leo did as he was told and sprinted home, setting his leg on "forest" and pushing it to the maximum.


	24. Chapter 24

Raphael, outside with Beth and Sky, looked up as Leo sprinted up to them

Raphael, outside with Beth and Sky, looked up as Leo sprinted up to them. He stood up; Leo was practically _vibrating_ with excitement.

"What's-"

"We found him!" Leo crowed, dancing in place, and shooting glances over his shoulder. "We found Kalian!"

Raphael nodded and ran inside to find Sebraka and Alastha. Leo glanced back at the woods, towards the house, and then spread his wings and closed them again. Everyone who saw him could tell he was _very_ agitated.

"Leo, why don't you go tell Donnie?" Sky suggested quietly, putting a hand on her husband's arm.

Leo fidgeted again, made a small whine noise Sky chuckled at, but then disappeared again, very nearly smashing the door frame as he swept into the house. Sky chortled and turned to Beth; they would wait for Raph and Mikey.

Leo sped towards the lab, twisting around people as they came down the hall with a grace that saved _many_ people bruises from being run into. He knocked hurriedly and then waited, tail slapping the floor.

Donatella finally answered the door; they were working with dangerous chemicals and the whole household was told not to enter unless the door was opened, just in case. He waved Leo in, who rushed in and then sprouted his news enthusiastically.

"We found him, Don, we found Kalian! He's okay, he's just a bit hurt, and Raph's bringing him and I ran home to tell you guys and Raphael's getting Sebraka and Alastha in case he's hurt-"

"Slow down, Leo, I can hardly understand you," Donnie chuckled, taking off his welding mask. "You found Mikey?"

"Yeah, hewasinaclearingandIsmelledhimafterRaphtookaswiminthepondandwewerelyingthereandIsmelledhimandwefoundhimandthenIranbackheretotelleveryone." Leo took a deep breath.

Don raised an eyebrow and held up a small needle that had been the scourge of Leo ever since he had been informed that Mikey was gone.

"No, no, I'll calm down." Leo eyed the needle; it was specially made to enter his scales, and Don didn't have a problem using it to calm him down when he woke up with some of the RTS acting up again, or when Alastha wanted him to take a break and Leo wasn't cooperating.

Donatello chortled. "Now, speak slowly. You found Mikey in a clearing, by smell, and he is mostly unhurt, correct?"

"Yes."

"Hm. If he was captured by Leonardo, it is possible he would be carrying a tracking device or even a bomb. I will check him," Donatello promised before Don could offer to do it. The older turtle grabbed his bag from the bench and wandered out, nodding a farewell to both of them.

"Donnie, put that away," Leo said nervously. Don still hadn't put the needle down, and he was looking at Leo curiously.

"Turn around, Leo," Don ordered in a distracted voice.

"Why?" Leo was instantly suspicious; his shell's display gave enough information for Don to tell he was just _barely_ under control.

"Just do it." Don's voice brooked no argument and Leo sighed, moving his wings and turning his shell so Don could see the display. "Hm. Well, Leo, do I need to sedate you or will you calm yourself down, enough so that your shell isn't flashing?"

Leo tried; he took deep breaths and closed his wings over his shoulders to keep himself from moving around. He finally established some control, and grinned at Don. "I've got it, thanks."

Don huffed and pocketed the needle, putting a hand on Leo's side and pushing gently. Leo barely felt it, and Don couldn't have budged him unless Leo wanted to move, but Don was merely telling Leo to go outside again.

Leo moved forward and walked as sedately as he could to the infirmary, where Mikey was being held most likely. He came onto a calm scene; Raph was sitting next to Mikey, and Donatello was holding his hands to Mikey's head, frowning in concentration.

"He's clean," Donatello said as they came in. "And pretty much unhurt; I think it's just exhaustion keeping him asleep right now. Raph, go ahead and wake him. Don, Leo, over here with me. He might be a little confused at first, and it's better to keep him busy with only one turtle than three."

Raph nodded and gently shook Mikey's shoulders. "Mikey, Mikey, wake up. Come on bro, time to get up. You're late for practice and Master Splinter's gonna kick your shell."

"No, he'll just make me do flips," Mikey mumbled, but he opened his eyes. "Hey- Where am I?"

"In the infirmary in Sebraka's mansion," Raph clarified.

"Why? Last thing I remember, I was in that clearing, just outta the pool."

Raph rocked back, not knowing what to do. He signed for Donatello, who rushed forward but motioned for Leo and Don to stay away for now. Donatello looked into Mikey's eyes and put his hands on Mikey's plastron.

Mikey looked at Donatello with recognition and confusion. Donatello closed his eyes and concentrated; Mikey kept his mind open and on the last thing he remembered.

"He's right; he can't remember anything. Well, I guess my questions of where you were are dead. Mikey, how long do you think you were gone?" Donatello asked carefully.

"I was swimming for a couple hours, so maybe five hours?" Mikey offered sheepishly. "Did I fall asleep in the water and almost drown?"

"How to put this…" Raph shot a look at Don, but his Kalian motioned for him to go ahead. "Mikey, you've been gone for five _months_."

Mikey was silent, staring at Raph for a moment, before he chuckled. "Huh. Well, then, I have plenty of catching up to do."

Raph stared in shock at his little brother before asking, "You've been gone for five months and you aren't even worried?"

"I don't remember what happened, so why should I worry?" Mikey shrugged, grinning. He started to sit up. "Hey, can I go find Lea? She's probably scared and – Hey, wait a minute. Where's Don?"

"Here." Don came forward, gripping Mikey's hand. "We were worried about you. How do you feel?"

"Good. Great. Fine. Awesome. Cool. Okay. Take your pick," Mikey grinned.

"Good," Don sighed. He motioned for Leo to come up and backed up a bit.

"Hey," Leo greeted cheerfully, putting a hand on Mikey's shoulder. They were totally unprepared when Mikey suddenly screamed and curled into a ball at Leo's touch. Leo reared back as if bitten by a snake and Mikey stopped screaming, huddled in fear on the edge of the table farthest from his Kavara.

"Mikey- Mikey, what's wrong?" Raph asked. The Dons were too shocked to speak, and Leo was hyperventilating, worried that he might have hurt Mikey.

"Go away- No- I don't- Go away- Go- Stop- You're hurting me- _Stop!_" Mikey rambled in fear, only letting a few words out that were actually interpretable. He started crying, as if in great pain.

Donatello moved forward then and touched Mikey; the youngest suddenly went limp, and Donatello sighed. Leo moved back even further, his wings shuddering. Don went to Raph, a hand on his shoulder to receive and give comfort.

"What the hell was that all about?" Raph demanded. Donatello looked at Mikey, then Leo, and then at Raph.

"My best guess is that Leonardo did capture Mikey, and did torture him. But he must have used holograms- Specifically, a hologram of Leo." Leo gasped along with his brothers. "Then he erased Mikey's memory. So Mikey doesn't know _why_ he fears Leo, he just knows that he _does_, and terribly, too. Poor kid."

"Then… How do we fix it?" came Leo's scared response in the silence that followed.

"We keep you two separated for a little while… I'm sorry," Donatello added when Leo growled. "But we can't have him having fits. Don, you and I will talk to him. Raph, you spend some time with him, too. Make him comfortable. Then, _gradually,_ start mentioning Leo. You know, like, "Oh, Leo managed to run three laps without stopping on his new leg." Stuff like that." Leo snorted. "Calm, casual. He may throw a fit – like he did just now – but when that happens, just back off. The next time, do it again. It's gonna take a while, but we'll get him into the stage where we could talk about Leo in front of him. And then we have to re-introduce them. Leo, it'd help if you weren't so… Big."

"Can't do anything about that," Leo grunted humorlessly. He turned and stalked out, clearly enraged.

"No one ever told him where Leonardo's fortress was, did they?" Raph asked carefully.

Donatello shook his head. "Not that I know of. Why?"

"'Cause he would probably be on his way if he knew," Don said sadly. "And he'd be ready for a blood fest."

Raph sighed and got up, following Leo's footsteps that were clearly visible. He found the large turtle outside, staring into the clouds above. His wings were lifted, like he was about to take off, but he was so still Raph wondered if someone had paralyzed him somehow. Beth and Sky were no where to be seen.

"Leo, come on. Don't be angry," Raph scolded, walking up to him. Without warning, Leo's wings snapped straight up, making him seem almost eleven feet tall. Raph punched his arm gently, to call Leo's attention to him.

"Leo, you can't blame Mikey for this."

"I don't," Leo ground out. "I blame Leonardo, and I'm going to find that bastard." Raph had that much warning before Leo's wings leveled and he pushed off, a "Straight Body" take-off that was hard on the wings.

Cursing his brother's foolishness, Raph bellowed at a servant to grab Raphael and Alastha and then ran and jumped into the sky. He was more agile in the air than Leo; he could take Leo down if he needed to.

Leo was just above the mansion, circling on a thermal for some altitude to glide with. Raph pumped his smaller wings and sped up to him, like a sparrow to an eagle.

"Leo, come down right now!" he ordered sternly, flying beside the leader. Well, he was actually about ten feet to his right so their wings didn't hit each other's and send them both tumbling.

"I'll be back," Leo merely stated. "Stay here and keep an eye on Mikey."

"Leo, so help me, I _will_ herd you down," Raph snarled. When Leo didn't respond, Raph snarled and pumped his wings harder to get above the leader.


	25. Chapter 25

Leo didn't respond; he continued his slow circling

Leo didn't respond; he continued his slow circling. When Raph judged he was high enough, he flipped and dive bombed at Leo. His larger brother let him land harshly on his shell, adjusting his wings to carry them both.

"Please get off," Leo asked politely, closing one wing and flapping the other, sending them both into a barrel roll.

"No," Raph grunted, flattening himself against his brother's shell and hanging on through the rolls. Leo threw his wings forward and sent them into backwards tumbles, trying to buck Raph off. "Leo, come on, just fly home." Leo was still over the manor, but Raph knew he could change course easily.

Leo lurched to a stop and climbed higher. They got up to where the manor was a dot below; Raph and Leo had trouble breathing and it was frigid. Raph felt himself starting to hibernate and angrily punched Leo's wing joint.

The large turtle gasped in pain – he wasn't really supposed to be flying, and his wings still pained him. Both wings folded and they hung, suspended, for just a moment before turning and plummeting back towards the ground. Raph found himself wishing he hadn't hit Leo; they were going to crash badly.

Suddenly, Leo's wings shifted and opened just a little, but they were too close for gradual stopping to work. With a small groan, Leo threw his wings open and pulled his head up, banking like a swan about to land in water. They were shooting over the tops of trees, heading for the mansion.

Raph opened his wings and angled them to push Leo towards the ground. Leo, tired and in pain, allowed this. Raph pushed off his shell and hovered above him, kicking Leo's wings when the turtle tried to scoot out from under his small brother.

Eventually, Leo was herded down within touching distance of the ground. Raph couldn't herd him lower, however. He looked at Raphael and Alastha, who had just come onto the scene.

_I can't Freeze him,_ Alastha Mind-Sent. _His shields are up. _

Raph sighed in exasperation and folded his wings, crashing into Leo's shell. With an undignified squawk, Leo dipped a bit. Raph fumbled in his belt and finally found the needle Don had slipped to him as he went out of the infirmary after Leo.

"Sorry, bro," he called just before jamming the needle into the scales on Leo's right shoulder. Leo reacted instantly; he hissed but his wings refused to move anymore. They were stuck open, and with how they were angled, they were going to hit ground any moment.

Raph pulled the needle out just as his teeth shook from the harsh landing. Leo landed like an airplane, sliding along the ground on his metal plastron. Raph jumped off and landed in a neat crouch; Leo slid to a stop almost right at Alastha and Raphael's feet.

Raph chuckled as Leo's eyes closed slowly, jerking against the medication that was designed to paralyze him and then put him to sleep. Alastha bent down and whispered something to him; Leo jerked, and then was still.

"Thank you, Raph," Raphael said, coming up and clapping his younger counterpart in the shoulder. "Leonardo would expect him to come and probably has something nasty cooked up to take us all down if we attacked him."

"Eh, I can't let him pull a Raph," Raph chuckled. "That's _my_ thing."

Raphael chortled and they turned to the house; Alastha grabbed Leo with her magic and steered him into the Lock-Down Room, which was basically a large cell built to contain large beasties that Raph caught, and recently converted into a holding cell for Leo when the big turtle wasn't cooperating with Alastha.

They left him there and separated; Raph went to Don. He found the purple-banded Kalian in the infirmary, speaking to Mikey. Mikey, true to form, had apparently forgotten all about the screaming fit. They looked up at Raph's entrance.

"Hey, bro!" Mikey chirped. "Where'd you go?"

"I had to check on a kid," Raph lied easily. He winced mentally; he didn't _like_ lying to his family.

"Oh, okay. Don's been telling me all about how you two have been working on Zathar. I would've loved to see _that_." Mikey chortled happily, and Raph relaxed. He had been afraid that Mikey would be scared and timid after the attack, but he was acting normal.

"It was fun," Raph chuckled. "I think he finally gets it, though who knows how long that'll last." Don snorted in agreement.

"So, what's been going on with you?" Mikey asked his elder brother. "What'd I miss in the rock-headed world of Raph?"

Raph, instead of slapping him as he would have before Don had cooled his temper a bit, shrugged. "I think Don's filled you in, Mikey. I've been training Zathar and a couple other brats."

"And they have all been working on their magic skills," Alastha commented, coming in with a bright smile. "Raph has become able to sustain a large amount of power, and hold it steady. Donnie had become able to fix anything we put in front of him, blindfolded, with his Knowing. They have become very powerful in their magic." It was a good thing she didn't mention Leo; Raph doubted that Mikey would be ready quite so soon.

Mikey grinned and hugged his brothers in congratulations. "That's awesome, guys! Congrats!"

"Thanks," Raph coughed, a little embarrassed as he embraced his brother back. Don hugged Mikey tightly and repeated Raph.

Alastha then touched Raph and Don gently, saying, "I need to speak with Mike for a bit, in private. Sorry."

"No problem," Don alleged cheerfully. "We'll be in the lab or dojo, and you know which one will be where!" Laughing, Mikey nodded. Raph smiled and ushered his Kalian out as Alastha sat down in Don's chair and took one of Mikey's hands.

"Mikey, I need you to relax. I'm going to try and dig up some memories from the last five months. Okay?" Alastha asked.

Mikey licked his lips and nodded, gripping her hand tightly and gathering himself.

"What was the last thing you remember?" Alastha asked Mikey, Merging them together seamlessly. Instead of speaking, Mikey called up the memory of running through the forest and then diving into the pool. She watched as he climbed out, shook off the excess water, and then looked around.

Then- black. Nothing. The next memory was of waking up in the infirmary, seeing Raph and Don. She paid careful attention to his feelings and emotions as it came time for Leo to make himself known.

Panic. Fear. Anger. Hurt. Distrust. Terror. Horror. Pain.

It all whirled through her in the instant Leo touched Mikey; she gasped but held on as Mikey let those emotions overwhelm him, curling into a little ball. He was pleading, begging his Kavara to leave him alone, to stop hurting him, to let him go. He thought Leo was going to hurt him, like he had before. Like he had been doing for _five months._

Ready to throw up, Alastha forced herself out of the Merge and soothed Mikey with words as the youngest turtle hyperventilated at reliving the nightmare. She hid her anger and sorrow and concentrated on getting the young turtle to rest.

Alastha got him to lie down on his plastron and she rubbed soothing circles on his shell, murmuring a lullaby.

She left when he was sleeping and he curled into a little ball, mumbling in his sleep. His words were unable to be made out, but they weren't screamed or even pain-filled, so she let him sleep.

She went to the holding cell, where Leo was just waking. She slipped in quickly and put a hand on him; he growled slightly in recognition and frustration.

"Calm down, Leo, or I _will_ put your under lock and key," she warned. The terror that had filled Mikey was still linger in her, and she dealt with fear by being angry.

Leo sighed in defeat and hissed slightly in pain. He touched his chest gently and then pushed against his metal plastron. "I'm bruised. I must have been going fast, huh?"

"You almost bowled Raphael and me over," Alastha reported humorlessly. "Next time, do as Raph tells you. He's a lot more level-headed than you are right now."

"How can I be?" Leo demanded. "My _Kalian_ was hurt badly, and he can't even remember it! Worse, he thinks _I_ did it! Even worse, he can't _stand _to have me in the same room anymore because he's so scared!" Leo's tail was still, and his wings were unnaturally quiet. But his scales stood on end; Alastha knew that this combination meant that he was furious and deeply hurt. "I want to help him, _but I can't!_"

"Shhh, Leo. If Mikey were able to, he'd be curled up in your wings right now." Alastha let her mothering instinct overrule her teaching one in this situation; Leo needed to vent, or he'd just break loose and attack his counterpart, probably killing himself in the end. "Let the rest of us help him for now. When he's comfortable around you, _then_ you can help him."

"Can you take the memory blocks off?" Leo asked quietly.

"Maybe. Not yet, though; he needs to be calmer for us to be able to work with him. We'd need a _lot_ of strength to do it, too. Leonardo is almost my equal in magic."

"I'll give mine to Raph," Leo promised. "He can hold it steady and Transfer it to you, since he's got that power, too. Donnie can help you find what went missing."

"Let's look at this like Mikey's mind is a castle," Alastha mused. "Leonardo, as far as I can tell, doesn't have the ability to blow off a "side" of it, which would mean that the memories would be lost forever. However, he _can_ "lock" the rooms and seal them tightly shut. That would take quite an amount of power to unlock, even with your help. You are strong, but you can't do this by yourself. We will work on building up your Transference, since you wouldn't need to be in the same room if you could just bring energy to us from the ground. That's the best way to go with that."

"Okay." Leo was calmer now that Alastha had given him something to chew on, a plan to perfect and neaten. She almost smiled; he always worked that way, becoming calmer in the face of difficulty. It was something she'd never understand. "I will train with you for now. We'll keep Mikey in the infirmary; Donatello can make something up, something painless but something that needs to be watched just in case. A concussion might work. Keep him there or outside. We can't have us running into each other." Alastha could feel Leo's pain without invoking her Empathy. "Raph and Don will work with him, get him more comfortable. Then I'll start passing by, from the other end of the hall, stuff like that. Until he can bear to have me walk by him. Then we go for touch; slowly."

"That's gonna take about a year, Leo," Alastha warned him gently.

Leo looked down. "I know," he whispered. "But I don't want my Kalian to fear me. It… I'm not strong enough to have that."

"No one expects it," she replied soothingly. "Alright, Leo. I'll tell Raph and Don. You head back to your rooms. Lionel and Sky should be there; dinner should be over by now."

He grinned and stood, offering his teacher a hand up with a gentle tease about "old bones' that was and old joke between them.

"Time for Operation: MIKEY," he said quietly, gripping her shoulder gently before walking off towards his rooms. Alastha watching him go with a soft smile on her lips. She'd never understand the bond of Kavara and Kalian, but she knew it meant a _lot_ to both parties with that tie.


	26. Bonding

A/N: How is it so far

**A/N: How is it so far? It's gotten really long, I know, and I'm sorry. But I can't, in good conscience, shorten it any more. Not without leaving people saying, "He WHAT now?" or "Huh?". So, enjoy anyway! :-)**

Mikey woke up the next day to Donnie's voice saying, "Mikey, we're having some brunch. Want some?" It seemed as though Don was not going to let his little brother go back to sleep, so Mikey sighed theatrically and sat up, wiping sleep from his eyes.

"What're we having?" he asked.

"Pancakes, sausage, and heavy-cream scones," Don said teasingly. Mikey made a sound that indicated he was about to throw up, and Don merely smiled. "Just kidding, Mikey. We're having some nice, light eggs and English muffins."

"Good, because I wouldn't be able to eat sausage right now," Mikey said.

"Well, that's a first," Raph chimed in, entering through the door to the dojo with a tray balanced on each arm, and one on his head.

"Raph! Put those down before you drop them!" Alastha snapped, also entering. She bore a single pitcher and four glasses.

Raph smirked and threw one at Don, who caught it deftly even though Alastha screeched suddenly. Raph put Mikey's on the bed in front of his brother, and then sat down with his own. Alastha glared at him as he grinned at her.

"Don't _do_ that!" she scolded. "My heart can't take that kind of surprise anymore!"

"Nonsense," Don laughed. "You're as fit as a fiddle, if you'll excuse the saying."

"I suppose that's a compliment," Alastha said warily. "If it wasn't, you'd be sorry, young turtle!"

"Lady and gentle-turtles," Mikey laughed, "Brunch is served and I'm eating!" With that, he dug in with a ferocious appetite. Raph chuckled even though he gave Don a worried look. Mikey _was_ skinnier, and it was reasonable he'd eat more, but he was completely disregarding the silverware Raph had put on the trays. He ate with his hands, which was something Mikey didn't really like to do, at least with eggs.

"Mikey, there's a fork for your use," Alastha said laughingly, but she also shot a wary glance as Raph.

Mike glanced at the fork, nodded sheepishly, and picked it up very gingerly, as if it would bite him. _Which, _Raph reflected angrily,_ is possible, at least to him. He probably was fed – what? – once a day? Maybe twice? And he probably was hurt by a whole _bunch_ of things that looked like a fork._

Mikey's appetite slowed and nearly stopped as soon as he picked up the fork. Raph frowned, his brow furrowing in confusion, but he dismissed it quickly. He'd talk about it later; for now, Mikey was eating, at least, and awake.

Once they were all done, Alastha denying hunger and pouring cups of sweet water for everyone, Raph put the trays on a nearby table and the cups stacked carefully on top, to take away later.

So it passed for several months; Mikey woke to Don telling him about their meal, the three brothers and Alastha or Raphael would eat together, and then they'd leave Mikey to rest again. Eventually, he was allowed to stay awake longer, but he was told to stay in the infirmary. Don told him something about a concussion that was not going away. At least, that's all Mikey understood. He was happy to stay in bed; he got to read a lot of comics and just hang out with his brothers and the two teachers. Lea visited often, too. She, for some reason, made Mikey nervous, but he just shrugged it off and smiled brightly at each of her visits.

Months after he was found, Mikey began to grow restless. Well, restless enough to risk leaving, despite Alastha's promise of locking him up if he tried. His brothers had been dropping hints about Leo; what he was doing, how he was doing, where he was at certain times of the day. Mikey had been cautious at first around these comments, but he grew used to them. He didn't flinch anymore, just took it in full stride and listened to his brothers' talk about Leo.

Now, he was sure he could handle it if he saw Leo. Getting up, he threw the covers back and crept from the infirmary. Raphael and Alastha were teaching at this hour, so he should be able to wander around undetected.

He decided to go outside; after all, it would be a nice day today, Don had said so. He crept through the halls, using his ninja skills to avoid the odd wanderer, usually a kid or servant.

He finally made it outside. Mikey crept into the shadows – of which there were precious few – and looked around. His heart nearly stopped. Sitting fifty feet away was Leo; his wings to his Kalian, meditating. Next to him, Lionel played in the grass. Sky was nowhere to be seen.

Leo tensed as if he felt Mikey. The winged turtle cautiously turned his head, keeping his eyes down in case eye-contact scared Mikey. "Hey, Kalian," he said softly.

"Hey, Kavara," Mikey answered, matching tone for tone. Lionel looked up and squealed in excitement; Mikey felt his heart jump and he calmed it down forcibly. He remembered Leo; _his_ Leo. The Leo who held him in his wing during a nightmare; the Leo who joked more often; the Leo who wrapped his tail around Mikey just because; the Leo who now looked at him with compassion:_ That_ was Mikey's Leo, Kalian's Kavara, The Jokester's Fearless Leader.

"Can I join you?" Mikey asked quietly. Leo swallowed and nodded; Mikey sat across from him, and Lionel crawled into his lap. "I guess I have been gone a while," he chuckled, picking up his nephew. "Lionel can crawl."

"He's learning quickly." Leo's voice was soft, but Mikey could hear the pride in Leo's voice for Lionel. "He can say a lot of things."

"Unca Mike!" Lionel squeaked, waving his arms and cooing.

"That's me, buddy," Mikey laughed. "Uncle Mikey."

"Unca Mike! Unca Mike!" Lionel chanted. Leo chortled in his throat and palmed his face.

"He's going to repeat that now, for hours," Leo predicted with the casual assurance a parent could have when talking about their kid's habits. "You'll get tired of it."

"After five months of missing Lionel?" Mikey asked quietly. "I don't think so." He put Lionel in his lap and let the little one play with his belt; Mikey had to talk to Leo.

"Do you… Hate me?" Leo asked almost silently, looking into the sky as if he was asking a power above. Mikey, though, knew this was Leo's way of saying, "Do I need to go?"

"No," Mikey said fiercely. "I did, but now I don't." He scooted carefully around and snuggled into Leo's wing. It enclosed around him and he fought down a wave of panic, which Leo must have felt or Felt, because the larger turtle loosened immediately and mumbled an apology, tensing to stand up and leave.

"Leo, Kavara, listen to me," Mikey pleaded, grabbing Leo's wing and pulling it around himself. It felt good; the shelter it had been before he went missing. "I don't know what happened. I just know that it had something to do with you and pain. I don't associate the two. I didn't. I don't anymore."

"When… When you came back, I touched you," Leo said quietly. His voice was hoarse. "You freaked. You screamed. You were terrorized of something, Mikey. The only logical explanation is that you were – and maybe, still are – afraid of me. I… I'm not strong enough to deal with that. Do you hate me for putting us apart?"

"No." Mikey huddled against Leo's side, being careful of Lionel. "I love you, bro. Nothing will ever change that; I need you, just as you need me. I don't know what, but something in you gives _me_ the courage to keep it up. To keep fighting."

Leo looked down at him, and the next moment Mikey knew, he was looking past Leo's shoulder; the giant had hugged him. Lionel churred in annoyance and thumped both turtles on the plastron.

Grinning, Leo leaned back and picked Lionel up from Mikey's lap. Lionel screamed in elation as Leo tossed him gently up and catching him again. Mike watched, contentedly in Leo's wing again.

Lionel was suddenly tired; he yawned largely. Leo lay back in the grass, pulling Mikey down on his wing, and put his son on his plastron. Lionel curled up and fell asleep, a small green bundle on a large metal plate.

Mikey rolled onto his side and faced Leo, who turned his head to look at him.

"Can I… See something?" Mikey asked hesitantly. "In your mind?"

Leo nodded immediately and Mikey Felt the formidable barriers around Leo's mind drop. Carefully, Mikey "walked" among the halls, searching for the memories of his and Leo's time together, just the two of them.

_Just like you, _he Mind-Sent to Leo. _Neat, clean, tidy, organized._

Leo chuckled out loud and in his head; Mikey grinned in both worlds as well.

_But there's so much, I'll spend all day searching, _Mikey complained. _Show me the memories of our time together._

Leo appeared in his vision, as he used to be; without the dragon features. Leo laughed at the stunned expression on Mikey and put his arm around his Kalian's shoulders. He didn't need to practically kneel to do it, either.

Then Leo led him through the "castle" easily, walking with a sense of purpose. They came before the locked door that Raphael had forbidden access to for them all. Leo pointed to the door next to it; Mikey grinned his thanks and entered.

The memories of him curled in Leo's wing, of them flying together, of their adventures outrunning Raph… They all swirled around in his mind. He tasted each one, reliving it. _This is therapy,_ he Mind-Sent to Leo.

Leo's only respond was a sense of rightness. Mikey continued looking. Eventually, he had all he needed to convince himself that this Kavara wasn't the one he was frightened of.

He exited the "room" and stood for a second. Something was calling him…

Slowly, he turned to look at the locked, dusty door. Leo was unaware as he approached it, which seemed odd to Mikey.

However, Mikey's curiosity got the best of him. He tried to lock. To his surprise, the door flung right open… Releasing _something_ that seemed to scream in delight.

Mikey tore his eyes open to hear Leo breathing rapidly. He rolled off Leo's wing and examined his brother; Leo's mouth twitched, and his chest was beating as fast as his heart.

_This can't be good,_ Mikey thought with amazing clarity. Turning his mind towards the house, he Mind-Bellowed for Alastha and Raphael. He Felt their alarm and knew they would come as soon as possible.

For now, he had to do something. Carefully, he reinserted himself into Leo's mind and was treated to a terrible sight. Leo's "castle", usually shining a brilliant white in Mikey's mind, now was a twisted, pasty black that reminded Mikey of black sewer sludge.

Blinding pain seared through him as he tried to enter the castle; he cried out and was thrown from the connection. His last coherent thought was that Leo had better be okay. Then, all was darkness.

**A/N: Alright, here we are getting to the action scenes. WARNING: THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS COULD CONTAIN UPSETTING IMAGES/IDEAS. However, this is not a guarantee. I change my mind like a brook babbles over rocks; both move swiftly and sometimes erringly. **


	27. Chapter 27

Mikey

_Mikey! Mikey!_

Mikey Felt someone calling him; he tried to answer, but when he opened his mind, he almost shrieked in pain. Next to him, something large shifted.

He pushed through the pain and opened his eyes. His chest suddenly slammed down on him and he gasped in air, lungs burning. A being engulfed him in a hug, and it took a moment for Mikey to recognize Donnie's green skin.

"Don," Mikey rasped.

"Don't _do_ that to me," Don shouted angrily. Mikey must have looked confused because Donnie smiled nervously. "You… I was doing chest compressions, Mike." Mikey's eyes widened and he would have babbled but for the lack of energy.

"Alastha, Raph, Raphael, Mikey's awake!" Donnie shouted. Mikey looked around and realized that they were still outside. He sat up with Don's help and looked around. His heart caught in his throat.

Leo was lying completely still, Lionel not on his chest anymore. Alastha was holding two ironing machines like doctors use in movies to jolt someone back to life.

"Clear!" she said grimly, pressing the heart jumpers to Leo's metal plastron and side. A whine, shock, and Leo's body twitched. Alastha moved back, putting the things down, and turned to Sebraka.

"He's not responding," she said quietly. Sebraka nodded and produced a needle with a very long tip. Alastha bit her lip and nodded.

Mikey wondered what was going on when Raph suddenly hugged him. He squiggled out of his second winged brother's grip and focused on the largest turtle. Sebraka had jammed the needle into his collar and was slowly pushing the liquid into Leo.

Raphael appeared. Alastha nodded to a soft question and Raphael put himself into position, straddling Leo's torso and doing strong chest compressions. Leo's metal plastron made it hard to compress, but Raphael pushed down with all his strength and managed to get somewhere. Alastha breathed for Leo.

With a gasp, the large turtle re-animated, sitting up and knocking Raphael down, Alastha away. He looked around a little, mouth parted softly as he panted. Then, he fell back down.

"Leo!" Mikey cried as his Kavara fell back. He shot to Leo's side and was relieved to see that Leo's chest rose and sunk. "What – Leo, wake up!" Leo seemed to be deeply asleep.

A large headache started behind Mikey's eyes and pounded his head to mush; he gritted through the pain and forced himself to stay awake. He knelt next to Leo and watched as Raphael and Alastha ran a diagnostic, physical and mental.

"Well, we aren't going to move him, so let's put up some shelter out here," Sebraka said quietly. Raph and Don went with her to grab a throw-tent.

Raphael pulled himself out of Leo's mind with a wince and stared directly at Mikey, who flinched and squirmed. "Mike, I need you to listen to me, very carefully. Leo is in no danger anymore. He's fine physically. Mentally he's a little messed up, but you can fix that."

"Me?" Mikey squeaked.

"When you opened the forbidden door, you released something that destroyed Leo's mind. In desperation, he built a Connection between you two. You have all of his memories stored. Next to your castle, in other words, his resides. White and unblemished. He had to act quickly and it killed you both. We were able to revive you both, as you know, but Leo, without a mind, can't function. We need _you_ to put it back." Raphael glared at him in retribution for opening the door he had said was off limits.

"Now?" Mikey doubted he could do anything with the headache consuming him. Alastha shook her head vehemently.

"No, Mike. You have a headache and Leo's body needs to rest. We gave him a direct shot of liquid adrenaline to his heart. That's only used when the being in question doesn't respond to shocks or compressions." Alastha looked down at Leo's calm face. "He's in a coma, because his mind is missing. He's safe like this, so there's no hurry. You need to rest, too. I'll talk you through the procedure later."

"But-"

"Mike, you want to do the best job you can, and with that headache you're having, you can't focus enough to firmly root Leo's mind. At best, you would make him stupid. At worst, you'd kill him."

Mike winced at Raphael's blunt logic but nodded. He pulled one of Leo's wings out and curled up in it. Alastha put her hand on his forehead and then murmured, "Sweet dreams, Mikey. I'll wake you for some food later."

Mikey was out like a light, and he imagined that Leo's wing curled around him tighter. However, he wasn't scared; Leo "hugged" him out of love, not restraint.

_Later…_

Mikey woke up in a prison of black and panicked for a second before chuckling and pushing Leo's wing aside. He sat up and looked around. They were in a tent that was all white, and they rested on the floor. Next to them, a small cot had been set up for Mikey. He knew, though, that he would only sleep with his Kavara, for now.

Sky was sitting with Lionel in a chair at the entrance, soothing the crying son. Mikey stood up and walked over to her, noisily. She turned to him, a sad smile on her lips.

"Hey, Sky," Mikey greeted softly. He pushed through the tent flap and came face-to-face with Master Splinter. Bowing, he murmured a greeting.

"Michelangelo, it is good to see you," the aged master said genially. "How are you this afternoon, my son?"

"I am as well as can be expected," Mikey said formally. "Leo's inside if you want to see him."

"I will, after I speak to you." Mikey swallowed a gulp. "Raphael from this world told me that you are Bonded to Leonardo now, a Bond mentally deeper than even Kavara and Kalian can attain." Master Splinter started walking for the woods, and Mikey followed.

"Yes. When I opened that door, Leo forced a Bond so that he could send me his mind for safe keeping. I can Feel it, Master Splinter. It's white and shining, just like it used to be." Mikey felt tears well in his throat. "Why'd I have to do that? Why'd I have to be so curious?"

"My son, do not blame yourself. Perhaps, with the release of the demon that tore apart your brother's mind, you helped free Leonardo. Your Bond will be important, that I can tell already. Take the advice of an old rat and do not blame yourself. Leonardo would be the first to tell you so."

"I… _Hai_, Sensei," Mikey acknowledged. "I will not blame myself further."

"Good. Now, meditate with me. I sense that your mind is in turmoil, and it would do you good to relax."

Normally, meditation would have Mikey whining. But now, he nodded and sat down in a small clearing they found eagerly. He wanted to wander the halls of his mind, maybe even go to Leo's mind and look around, make sure everything was in place.

He sunk quickly into his castle, a duller white than Leo's and less impressive, but definitely more "homey". The hallways weren't cluttered, thanks to Alastha and Raphael's intensive training. His mind just had looser "doors" than his brothers, that would often swing open uninvited and distract Mikey.

He looked around, revisiting memories of seeing Leo fly for the first time, seeing Lionel crawl up to him, seeing Raph hanging from the ceiling in sleep, watching Donnie blow something up, and smirking at the memory of Don's "accident" that turned his skin pink for a day. He wandered through the doors, looking for memories of Leo and Sky, and found the one he was searching for. The look on Leo's face when Lionel was born, the pride and joy, was something Mikey would never forget.

He then turned to Leo's mind and looked around. It seemed hollow, empty. However, he checked each room carefully and couldn't find anything out of place or missing.

He reopened his eyes to falling dusk and a growling stomach. Master Splinter was sitting nearby, still meditating. However, as Mikey stood up, Master Splinter also woke. Mikey offered a hand to his elder and they started back for home silently.

Sky and Lionel were not outside the tent anymore, and as Mikey approached, he could hear Raph and Don talking quietly inside. He opened the door and walked in after saying farewell to Master Splinter, who smiled briefly and headed for the house.

Raph and Don were eating, sitting on the cot. There was a tray next to them that was for Mikey; he fell upon the contents hungrily and listened as Raph and Don discussed the day's lessons. They were training Zathar again, and the little punk was giving them a hard time.

"I almost want to give him some of our memories," Don sighed, putting his tray aside. He was done.

"Alastha forbade it," Raph grumped. "It would make our lives that much easier."

Mikey nodded, sipping at his cup of water. "We don't have to, though," he mused, staring at Leo. "We could just take one or two at a time to our world. Show them what it's like to live there. Oh, no, they wouldn't be allowed to join us topside. They aren't good enough for that. But we'd come back home bruised and bleeding, and they'd see what it's like."

Raph stared at him, and Don looked around his Kavara to do the same. "Mikey… That's a great idea! Leo's mind must be mingling with yours," Raph joked.

"No, they're separate," Mikey whispered. He put a hand on Leo's arm and looked at them briefly. "I can't Merge them. Leo's is in lock-down."

"Oh." Raph was silent for a moment before discussing the possibilities of having one or two of the kids in this world over for a "visit".

"We should talk to Sebraka about that," Raph mused. "It would be a good experience for the children. But we'd only take the ones old enough to spend time away; twelve and up, in this world. Perhaps even older."

"Lea's birthday is tomorrow," Mikey suddenly said, grinning. "I promised to take her through the woods. She loves them."

"How old is she turning?" Don asked.

"Eleven," Mikey sighed. "Remember what we were like when we were eleven?"

"Yeah; a horde of screaming ninja hooligans," Raph chuckled.

"Not too far from the truth, Raphael." Master Splinter entered. His capable students bowed while they sat for there was little room to stand. "You were a horde of ninja hooligans, though you hardly screamed. You "yelled", as you so elegantly pointed out to me, Raphael, when you were young."

Don and Mikey chortled while Raph blushed quietly. He muttered something about the differences between yelling and screaming.

"Mikey screams," Don added. "Raph bellows. I shout. Leo roars."

"No way," Raph snorted. "_Leo_ is so loud you can't call it a roar. He shrieks, if anything."

"Only if you hurt him," Mikey disputed. "When you surprise him, it's more like a roar."

"It'd be interesting to see him squeak," Don mused. Mikey looked at him oddly.

"Can you imagine _Leo_ squeaking?" Raph asked incredulously.

"Well, considering the fact that he _purrs_… Why not? Surely he can squeak. We'll ask him when he wakes up."

A silence fell at that. Raph glanced at Don, who was fidgeting in the quiet. Mikey was staring at Leo, hands shaking. Master Splinter was still, standing frozen in the doorway.

"Well, I know he can shriek," Mikey finally said. "Leo can roar, shriek, hiss, purr, growl, snarl, and grunt. Raph can bellow, grunt like a caveman, roar, yell, shout, and growl. Donnie can squeak, squeal, shout, and snort. I can yell."

"And squeal, and squeak, and scream," Raph added, glad to be rid of the silence.

In retaliation, Mikey blew a raspberry.

"Oh,_ very _mature, Mikey, _very_ mature," Don said dryly, rolling his eyes.

"Wha-at?" Mikey grinned. Don and Raph did as well; the awkwardness was gone, and they could joke again.


	28. Chapter 28

That night, Mikey slept in Leo's wing again

That night, Mikey slept in Leo's wing again. He rolled around and shivered, but not from cold. He kept having nightmares.

Mikey watched as the Foot ambushed him – no, Leo. Watched as they attacked, hordes upon hordes of the vile ninja. Watched as he ran away, hating himself for it.

Feeling Leo's fear and anger as he was boxed in time and again, fighting for his life so many times he began to wonder if it was even worth it. That thought was shoved aside when Leo was faced with the Shredder's Elite, and then Shredder.

Mikey yelled as he woke, the fear making him panic. A hand touched him; he jerked away and huddled closer to his prone brother.

"Mikey, it's me." The voice was deep and soft.

"R-Raph?" Mikey asked, shaking.

"Yeah, bro. I came in to check on you. What's wrong?"

The next moment, Raph found himself on the cot with a lapful of tearful Mikey. Usually, Raph would dump his butt and say, "Go find Leo". However, he looked at the comatose form of the leader and hugged Mikey back.

"Shush, Mikey," he crooned gently. His pride was taking a serious blow, but he ignored it and stroked Mikey comfortingly. "Shhh. It's okay; you're safe."

Mikey sniffled and Raph felt his little brother's hot tears sliding down his own plastron. Mikey was shaking and refused – by way of hugging tightly – to be let go. Raph continued to soothe him, giving a mental shout to Donnie. He wasn't good at this sort of thing.

Don came in near-silently. He took stock of the situation and sat next to Raph. When he touched Mikey, the orange-banded turtle latched onto him. Now his lower body was in Raph's lap and his torso was hugged against Don.

Don smiled gently and spoke softly to the distraught turtle as Raph put Mikey in his Kalian's lap fully and got up to check on Leo. Aside from a crumbled wing-bed, the leader was unaffected.

They finally got Mikey calmed down into a resemblance of normalcy. Raph had to admire Leo then; Mikey was like a little kid when it came to nightmares.

"Now, Mikey, what happened?" Don asked soothingly, rubbing circles on Mikey's shell.

"Remember when Leo got thrown into April's apartment?" Mikey asked, taking a shuddering breath.

"Yes." Raph and Don shot each other looks that said, "Please tell me he didn't".

"I dreamed about what happened to him. Before that. What happened during the ambush."

Raph nodded; he had suspected that. But why was Mikey so tearful about that? Leo had told them that he was set upon by Foot, a whole bunch of them.

"They… They threw everything they had at him," Mike continued quietly. "At first, it was the regular companies. A hundred or so at a time. He kept running. They'd switch in a new company, let the old one rest. Then four FootTech Ninjas. He was beaten by them for a while until he covered his eyes and fought without sight. He destroyed them and moved on. More Foot Ninja. Then I – no, Leo – was ambushed on another building. He fought Hun. Brought a brick chimney down on him. But did that stop Hun?" Mikey and Raph snorted. "Of course not.

"Then Hun backed up, and there were the four Elite. All four of them. Fresh from their headquarters, while Leo had been fighting for hours now. He attacked them, but they ran and poofed up by Hun. Then they bowed to _him_.

"Shredder just watched as the Elite attacked Leo, beating him with everything they had. He lost his swords and barely managed to escape. That's when he was thrown through the window. He can't even remember if he was thrown or fell. And when we got to him… He thought we'd look at him in disgrace."

"Why? He survived, which is more than I can say for myself, had I been in that situation," Don mused.

"Leo has… Honor issues," Raph said bluntly. He put a hand on Mikey's arm. "Well, now we know what was behind that locked door. Right?"

"I dunno. Maybe." Mikey yawned. "Can- Can you stay here? Can we all sleep in here?" Mikey asked timidly.

"Sure, Mikey." Don shot a glare at Raph, who started to protest. The hothead swallowed it and nodded.

Raph and Don slept in Leo's right wing, Raph's arm thrown over Don's shell as they both slept on their plastrons. Mikey was in Leo's left wing, clutching his Kavara's arm.

_The next morning…_

Mikey woke up to a voice. Alastha's, to be specific, and she sounded calm so he took his time opening his eyes. It was comfy in Leo's wing, and warm. He sat up gingerly and moved Leo's wing.

"Morning, Mikey," Alastha greeted. She handed him a plate of food, which he gobbled hungrily. She watched until he was done. "I'm here to talk with you about re-Planting Leo's mind."

Mikey nodded, putting the now-empty plate aside and facing Alastha, concentration making his usually-young face seem older.

"When you begin, you'll need a lot of energy just to force your way into the cavity that Leo's mind should be in," Alastha began. "It's going to be a hard trip, but if you hold on, you'll be rewarded. You'll know the cavity because it'll be like the eye of a storm; calm and cool, surrounded by chaos.

"I'll give you the energy you need, Transferring it from outside sources and giving it to you. But once you're in that eye, you'll be unreachable. From there, you'll have to go by instinct.

"This is the hardest part. You will need to take apart Leo's mind, very carefully. It'll take a long time, during which I won't be able to give you energy. You'll have to use your own, and if you can, Leo's.

"You will need to imagine taking apart Leo's castle room by room, from the floor up. You'll need to support the remaining layers of his mind while you whittle away the bottom. You move each room into its place in the eye, and then connect them with hallways. It has to be exact, Mikey. Or very, very close. Otherwise, he might reject it again.

"If he rejects it again, it'll go into the Void, not into your mind. There will be no retrieving it. You get one chance, Mikey."

Mikey swallowed and looked to Leo. The giant lay there, unmoving.

"I'll do it," Mikey whispered. "I've got to. We can't survive without him. Your turtles can, but we can't. With Master Splinter getting old… We need his guidance."

"Leo believes in you, Mikey. Otherwise, he wouldn't have done what he did. He would have died."

Mikey nodded, placing his brow against Leo's plastron and closing his eyes. Alastha put a hand on his shell and rubbed it soothingly.

"Is there any way I can… Practice?" Mikey asked timidly, not moving.

Alastha bit her lip and nodded. "Yes. I will help you practice concentrating against the storms you'll find in the chaos around the eye. You'll need to concentrate one hundred percent, Mikey. It won't be easy, by any stretch of imagination. I probably couldn't do it."

Mikey blew out through his nose gently. "Very well. Let's do this."

Alastha got up and gave him a hand, which he accepted gratefully. She led him to her workroom, a round, wood-paneled area that was Shielded very heavily.

They sat down and Alastha began the lesson. She told him to concentrate on only one thing, and he chose to imagine Leo, down to the last detail. As he tried to build an illusion, perfect in every way, she sent rages of energy to blast him.

He failed many times and got more frustrated every time. Alastha kept hammering him.

Finally, he was past the point of return and lashed back. She wasn't hurt, but he felt terrible. Surging to his feet, he ran away, back to Leo.

Raph came and found him there, weeping bitterly against Leo's still side. Mikey had wrapped one of Leo's arms around him.

Raph sat near him silently, patiently. A while ago, he would have been indifferent on the outside, but he knew that Mikey needed him. A few minutes after he came in, Mikey latched onto him instead. At a loss, Raph just held him and murmured quietly, just for the heck of it. He'd seen Leo comfort Mikey with a touch, but Mikey didn't seem to be relaxing any time soon.

Don came in a while later, alerted by Raph via Mind-Send that the second Kavara was having a little trouble. He sat down on Mikey's other side and hugged both turtles. Mikey's tears finally slowed a little.

"Shush, Mikey, it's okay. We're here for you." Don whispered more to Mikey, and Mikey turned into his arms more. Raph leaned back a bit, letting them both know in his own gruff way that he was useless.

"I-I can't d-do it, D-Donnie," Mikey cried. "I c-can't m-m-maint-tain the f-focus I n-n-need."

"Shh, Mikey, it's okay. We don't expect you to do it instantly. Even Leo would have problems with this. We know you can do it, though. You can do anything you want to." Don rubbed his beak on Mikey's brow, like he had when they were kids and Don was the family "comforter". Mikey sniffled a little, but was silent otherwise.

"He believes in you, bro," Raph added thoughtfully. "He believes you can do this. I do, too."

"R-Really?"

"Shell yeah, bro," Raph laughed. He put a hand on Mikey's neck. "You can do anything you want to. You just don't, usually."

Mikey hiccup-laughed and sat up straighter. He looked down at Leo. "I just wish… He could have been here, to help me."

"Well, he's not and we are. You'll have to make do with us," Don teased. It didn't hurt Mikey, though it could have, since the brainiac was meaning it in the kindest sense. "Don't worry. We'll get through this."

"Yeah… I'm gonna go find Alastha." Mikey stood up with determination and set out for his teacher. Raph glanced at Don, who smirked.

"I love him," Don chuckled. "Don't ask me why, but I do."

"Eh, he's alright." Raph shrugged.

"Which means you love him, too," Don interpreted dryly. "Don't even try, Raph. I know all your tricks."

"Is that so, brainiac?" A dangerous glint lit Raph's eye, and Don eyed the entrance to the ten.

"Um… Yeah."

"Well, then, it shouldn't surprise you that I do – _this!_" Raph jumped at Don, who squeaked and ran out, chased by a "rabid turtle". Raph caught him and mercilessly tickled the purple-banded turtle. Next to Leo, Don was the most ticklish. It was something Raph often used to his advantage.


	29. Chapter 29

Mikey found Alastha waiting for him in her workroom

Mikey found Alastha waiting for him in her workroom. She started to speak but he shook his head and said, "It's my fault, Alastha. I should apologize. I got angry. I'm sorry."

She nodded and grinned. "Well, Mikey, you were doing very well. Not many of my students would have held on that long. I can be – insistent."

"Or a downright ass," Raphael muttered as he entered. Alastha blew a raspberry at him, at which he chuckled. "I came because we got a message for you, Alastha. Here you are." He handed her a clipboard with a letter on it. She took the letter and opened it, scanning the contents.

"Excellent. Tell Professor Jakus that I will attend to this as soon as possible. For now, I'd like for him to work with it as long as he can, but carefully." Raphael nodded, took the letter and clipboard, and walked back out. She turned back to Mikey and he sat down. "Now, let's do this again. Keep your concentration on making the illusion, and keeping your shields strong. Concentrating on two things with one hundred percent of yourself is hard, but do-able. Ignore the forces outside; just concentrate on the illusion and your shields."

Mikey nodded in understanding and raised his shields. Alastha raised her own and began the attacks.

This time, Mikey kept himself working at the illusion and diverting some of his energy to holding his shields. He ignored the attacks, not even bothering to register that he was ignoring them.

Alastha called his name suddenly. He opened his eyes to find Leo looking down at him and sucked in his breath. Trembling, he raised a hand. With the snap of his concentration losing itself, Leo disappeared.

Alastha nodded in congratulations. "Well done, Mikey. That is one of the best illusions I've ever seen. And you did wonderfully. Would you like to try again?"

Blinking from the disappearance of his Kavara, Mikey shook his head. "I'm worn out, Alastha. Can I go get something to eat?"

She smiled and nodded. "Sure, Mikey. Great job."

"Thanks." He stood and walked stiffly out, his knees hurting a little from sitting in one position for so long. Directing himself to the dining room, he was surprised to see Lea and a few of the older kids eating.

He sat down next to them with a tray of good food and dug in greedily. He ate with his fork and knife, knowing that eating with his hands was not good manners. Lea hugged him in welcome, and he put his arm around her shoulders briefly.

She used to make him nervous, for some reason he couldn't understand. She looked so much like the old Leo that it was kinda scary. If they didn't know better, Mikey would have been willing to bet that Lea was Leo's kid.

That brought Mikey to a screeching halt. Lea was Leonardo's child. Could Leonardo have looked a lot like Leo? He called up memories of Leo's old body, and then looked at Lea hard.

He drew back slightly. They looked like exact copies, except that her chest was a little smaller and she was shorter and thinner than Leo used to be. Her legs were less muscular, as were her arms. But the eyes were the same; a deep, focused blue that were easy to lose oneself in.

She smiled. _Even their smiles are the same,_ Mikey mused, grinning back. The smile on Lea traveled all over her face. Her eyes lit up with sparkles and her nose twitched cutely. He tweaked it, and she giggled.

_Okay, that's not the same,_ Mikey chuckled to himself. Leo would _never_ giggle. He'd chuckle, chortle, laugh, snigger, and snicker, but a _giggle_ wasn't in his vocabulary. Carefully, Mikey stood up again, putting his tray in the dirty dishes window, and then went back and sat down by Lea.

"Mikey, why do you always carry your weapons?" one of the older kids asked curiously. "Raph didn't answer when we asked him."

Grinning, Mikey answered. "When you grow up with a houseful of brothers, fighting ugly Foot ninjas every day, you learn to carry a weapon wherever you go. I _shower_ with at _least_ Chuckie and Chuckles."

"Chuckie and Chuckles?" the children giggled.

Mikey laughed. "I had to name them something. Their real names are Elvish. This one-" Mikey pulled his left one, "Chuckles"- "is Aeril, or "Law Giver". And this one-" Mikey indicated the right one, "Chuckie"- "is Maernatear, which means "Defender of the Way"."

"Cool," Lea chirped. The others nodded. "What's my name in Elvish?"

"Hm… Let me think a moment. Amanae, I think."

"Oooh, I like that. What's it mean?"

"Amanae means "Beautiful Whisper"," Mikey whispered, bending close to her ear.

"What's my name?" Zathar demanded, choosing that point to make him known as he stalked in through the doors, where he had been lurking and listening.

"Hm…" Mikey thought for a moment. "Firali. "Dark Shadow"."

Zathar looked flattered. "I like that. Zathar is so stupid. From now on, I'm Firali."

"What's my name, Mikey?" Donatello's eldest, Teddy, asked.

Teddy was outgoing and fun to be around, but incredibly smart. He was always reading, telling stories, or explaining things to adults and children alike. Mikey bit his lip in concentration. "You could be Tho'aer. That means, "Truth Singer"."

"I like that!" Teddy smiled. "Tho'aer. Can I make that my new name?"

"Your parents aren't going to like me for renaming you," Mikey scolded teasingly. Teddy smirked.

"Hey, it's better than the names Raph gave us. He says there's too many of us to remember, so he calls us Dork, Dork Alpha, Dork Beta, and so on. Zathar's name is Dork Omega-Alpha. Raph said that means he's the biggest dork here."

Zathar growled and stomped out, cursing under his breath. Teddy giggled at his brother's indignation, along with the others.

Irine, the outgoing one of the pair of eleven-year-old twins that Sebraka and Michelangelo were proud of, asked for her name next.

"Irine. Hm." Mikey wondered what he could possible name the enthusiastic child of his counterpart's. "Gaeldre. "Charming Pegasus"."

"Oooh, I like that!" she squealed. She loved pegasi and all other mythical creatures, though the winged horses were her favorite. "What's Mary's name?" The shier of the twins blushed when Irine asked exuberantly and then deeper when Mikey regarded her.

"Hm. That one's a little tougher. Let me think a moment." Mikey tapped his chin. "Got it! Veraera. "Peace Singer"." Mary was often the one to break fights up between the younger and even older children. She could talk anyone out of a rage, and she always knew _exactly_ how to handle a situation involving hurt feelings.

Mary blushed and squirmed when Irine gasped and cooed about how it fit so well.

Amanda sat on Mikey's other side from Lea and finally spoke up. "Mikey, can I have an Elvish name?" she asked quietly. The eldest of all the children was shy until she believed someone was gong to be hurt; then she was more stubborn that Leo and deadlier than Raph in a rage.

Mikey gazed at her for a minute before deciding on one. "Your name will be Baelala, "Guardian of Harmony". I think it fits you well."

Amanda nodded happily and hugged him. "Thanks, Mikey. I love it."

"There you go: you're all named now," Mikey laughed. "Let's see if I remember. Zathar was Firali, right?" Everyone nodded. "And Lea is Amanae." More nods. "Mary is Veraera. Irine, you're Gaeldre. Amanda, I named you Baelala. And Teddy, you are Tho'aer. Did I get those all right?"

Everyone nodded happily.

"So, can we use these as our names?" Teddy asked enthusiastically.

"Sure," Mikey laughed. "But don't blame me when the adults don't call you that. My brothers wouldn't call me "Turtle Titan" no matter how many times I insisted."

Lea giggled since she had heard the story. The others laughed loudly, having heard it from Lea and bits from Mikey's brothers. Mikey grinned.

Don suddenly walked in to find the entire table laughing. He sat down near Mikey, on Lea's left side.

"Dare I ask?" he asked Lea, who chortled.

"Mikey gave us Elvish names," Lea explained. "We're laughing because he was saying that we probably won't get the adults to call us by those names because you guys didn't call him "Turtle Titan" when he asked."

Don glanced at his brother and snickered. "So, what'd he name you?"

"Amanae. It means, "Beautiful Whisper"," she giggled gaily.

Don smiled and nodded. "It fits you. Do you want to be called that?" She nodded eagerly. "Very well, then. Amanae it is."

A couple other had heard and Teddy immediately pounced on Don. "He named me Tho'aer. It means, "Truth Singer". I wanna be called Tho'aer!"

Don chuckled and nodded. "Okay, then, Tho'aer. I will do my best."

Amanda and Irine also insisted on being known as Baelala and Gaeldre. Don offered Mary the honor, which she blushed proudly at and nodded when he asked if it was okay to call her Veraera.

"Alright, little Elves," Mikey laughed. "Run along now."

With a series of giggles, the children put their empty trays in the kitchen and skipped out of the dining room. Don scooted next to Mikey and grabbed the orange-banded turtle's hand.

"Come on, Mikey. It's time for you to go to bed. You worked hard today."

Yawning, Mikey pretended to fall asleep against Don. Donnie chucked and picked him up, carrying his teasing brother out to Leo's tent and setting him down gently on Leo's wing.

"Sleep well, fellow Kalian," he whispered, walking back out. Mikey wrapped himself in Leo's wing and grabbed his Kavara's hand.

It might have been his imagination, but he imagined that Kavara squeezed his hand when Mikey was just drifting off to sleep.


	30. Chapter 30

It took a week for Alastha to train Mikey

It took a week for Alastha to train Mikey. Uncommon to his character, Mikey spent all of his waking time with Alastha or Raphael, learning. Don joked that he could retire; Mikey responded with a blown raspberry, a bit of his regular cheer showing through, before he dove back into studying.

A week and three days after Leo's collapse, the three brothers gathered in the tent with Alastha and Raphael. The mansion had been emptied; the kids were at the college, taking a tour with Donatello and Michelangelo. The ladies were out at the malls with the younger children, probably in a movie theatre.

Raph and Don sat at the back of the tent, ready to give their stores of power to Mikey through Alastha. Raphael and Alastha positioned themselves on either side of Leo, while Mikey sat at Leo's head.

Carefully, Mikey put his hands on Leo's brow and frowned in concentration.

_Mikey's POV:_

I'm frightened to death. If I mess this up, I completely destroy Leo. Alastha has been telling me all kinds of stories of re-Planting minds. They're always done by hugely powerful mages.

I'm not powerful! I'm a weak mage, especially in this kind of magic. I'm strong in Transference, but still!

Nonetheless, my brother needs me. My _brothers_ need me. All of them. I'm the only one with Leo's mind, the only one he could put his precious mind in after that mistake.

Taking a deep breath, I shoo all thoughts away except for my one goal: Heal Leo. Alastha connected us and fed me power. I am ready.

A flicker of thought, and I'm thrown into the storm of chaos that surrounds where my Kavara's mind should be. It's terrible and glorious; the sheer _power_ of the storm frightens and amazes me. I'm awestruck and watch it whirl.

Then a blast hits me painfully. I gasp in pain but shove it to the back of my mind automatically, like Raphael taught me to. I Look around.

A whirlwind heads for me and I start running, in any direction. It doesn't really matter; the eye will find me, Alastha said. More blasts of energy, the magnitude of I've never seen, and "rocks", little bits of energy that had consolidated into very hard bits, hit my Shields. I concentrate solely on finding the eye, since that will call it to me, and on holding my shields.

A lonely wail sounds on the wind. I shiver; it sounds like Leo, but the sadness brings tears to my eyes. _No, _I tell myself fiercely. _You cannot cry now. Ignore it, Mikey. _I keep talking to myself, putting my emotional part of me to the back of my mind and forging forward.

I can't See anything now; the energy that surrounds me is blazing white, and if I try, I'll be Blinded. Another wail moans through me, shuddering my bones.

A voice starts speaking in my ear. I try not to listen, but I recognize it and pay attention.

"Mikey… Mikey… Kalian…"

It's Leo. Crying in happiness, I open my eyes, trying to See.

Searing pain engulfs me. I think I screamed. I can't remember. Raphael said later that I did, I positively _shrieked_.

All I knew was that my mind and magic channels were on fire, as if molten rock was being poured into my castle and the tunnels underneath that were my magic. It Blinded me and I sank to my knees in the chaos, crying pitifully.

_I fail,_ I thought miserably. _I can't do this. Leo, the pain…_

_**I'm here, Mikey.**_A powerful voice sounds from my own mind. I gasp slightly and listen in confusion. _**Mikey, Kalian, you're doing wonderfully. Get up, Kalian. Get up. They're coming. Get up! Run!**_

I struggle to my feet and suddenly the sounds of hissing reaches for my ears. Stumbling, I start running away.

_**This way, Mikey. Follow my voice. The eye is here. Here, Kalian. Come to me.**_

I am nearly weeping in joy. I am in great amounts of pain, I'm shaking like a leaf, but _Leo is with me._ That makes it all worth it. To hear his voice again… I would gladly die a thousand horrible deaths if it only meant listening to another of his lectures, or watching him fly freely, or laughing as he's dancing with Sky in the ballroom, or playing with Lionel.

_**Kalian, only a little further. They're coming, Kalian. Run! Run!**_

I take all the extra power I have that Alastha fed me and burst into nothingness. To my Sight, which is bruised and hurts, but I Look anyway, I am in a pitch-black area. I can't even tell what _size_ this area is. I just get the feeling that I'm safe here.

_Implant the mind,_ I think to myself. I think about lighting the area up a bit, and it grows as bright as dusk. Wincing a little, I start rebuilding, taking little sections from Leo's white castle and Planting them in the soft soil I can Feel and See.

It takes hours to get the first floor done. I step back and take a look; it looks perfect. I can't hear anything; it's totally silent in here.

Gathering more power from another store, I begin on the second floor, just as tediously as the first. It's hard work, carting each "brick" of Leo's mind from my own to this eye place, Planting it, and then making sure it is sturdy and steady. Even one loose brick could kill this project.

As I move them, I Listen to the "bricks". They tell me all about Leo; sharing memories and thoughts. I get an insight into the leader's mind like I've never seen before. It's incredible.

He draws. Did you know that? And I don't mean little doodles. One of the "bricks" showed me a picture he'd done a while ago. It showed a nunchuck, pure and simple. But that nunchuck looked like it was hiding something, the shadows crafted to make it look like there was a presence to that

I decided that I would raid his room when I had the chance and find all of his pictures.

He likes a desert of strawberries and apple slices with a little bit of sugar sprinkled over it. The first time he picked up a sword, he connected with it on a powerful level. My first prank on him – involving pepper in his food – made him decide to hide all the pepper in the lair for a year. He still gets uneasy around it.

How did we miss all of this? Here's another one; Leo's favorite pastime is writing. He draws pictures and then writes about them. Poetry is his favorite form. A few of the "bricks" had memories of a scrap of poem he liked.

That was another thing; he remembers _everything_. Oh, sure, he can't call it up immediately. But if I were to tell him something, he'll analyze it, store it neatly, and then "tag" it. If, even years later, I were to say something similar, that "tag" would alert him and he'd remember it clearly.

That's how he remembers things. He "tags" them. Every "tag" leads to another, which leads to another, which leads to another. It's all set out, as if Leo had no choice but to follow that path.

One of the "blocks" held a memory of fighting Karai. I was surprised to see that Leo had "tagged" that with a feeling of friendship. When I encountered another one, that feeling was even stronger. I realized, by the time I had the fourth floor done and had encountered many Karai-Bricks, that Leo used to crush on the young lady.

But, by the fifth floor, that feeling was smashed, replaced by such sorrow and betrayed feelings that I nearly wept.

I carefully built up the rooms, too, putting everything back where it belonged. Each room was a "grand tag" that Leo could consciously access to follow a single "tag line". I came to a room devoted to hair, of all things.

It was made of the "bricks" that were tagged with the feeling of hair. April, Casey, random people's hair when Leo accidentally touched it. Texture and sight came with the bricks, as well as a date. I saw clearly as Leo brushed April's hair for her.

Wait, rewind. _Leo_ brushed _April's_ hair? I carefully looked at it again; sure enough, Leo was holding a flat brush. April was sitting in front of him, on the floor, while he sat on the sofa. It was just those two; Leo was brushing her hair lovingly.

"Leo, it won't break," April's voice suddenly said in the memory. She chuckled like a brook babbling over rocks.

Leo's deep voice answered. He sounded more relaxed than Mikey had ever heard him. "April, you have beautiful hair."

Mikey could agree with that; April kept her hair very neat and supple. As Mikey watched, Leo braided it with the ease of a professional. He nearly popped a vein in astonishment; Leo looked like he had been doing that forever.

April stood up and sighed happily. "Excellent job, Master Barber," she teased. Leo stood as well and put the brush aside. He tucked a lock behind her ear.

"It'll do," he allowed humbly.

She smacked him gently. "Leo, if you were human, girls would be falling over their feet to have you braid their hair. Tomorrow, I've got a big meeting. Can you work with this unruly mess tomorrow, too?"

Leo smiled happily and nodded. The memory faded.

Mikey searched for the rest of the memory and found it. He settled back to watch that one, too.

Leo was standing, this time. April sat on a stool in the kitchen. The turtle was gently combing half of her lush hair, the other half draping over April's shoulder. It was back when she had hair down to her hips.

He eyed it for a moment and then asked April, "Do you want it done in a French braid, April?" Mikey sucked in his breath; he didn't know Leo could French braid! That was hard to do.

April shook her head. "Leo, you said you'd do something spectacular," she mock-pouted. "And you know I look like Pippy Longstalking when you French braid my hair."

"Oui," Leo chuckled like a regular move barber. "Very well then, madam." He continued with his high-class French accent. "We will do something ex-_tro-_dinary!"

April giggled and nodded. Leo brushed out the rest of her hair and then stood in front of her, examining her face and hair. "I have it!" He bustled around again, leaving the bathroom where they worked and coming back in with a tub of ties.

He grabbed a curler and set to work carefully. Mikey Watched as he curled the ends of April's hair and then twisted the middle and roots together. When he was done, he stepped back and April let out a gasp.

Mikey mirrored her. April's beautiful hair fell in long curls down her back, fanning out to peek around her sides cutely. Strands were twined around her arms and crossed down her front as well. Her short bangs hung down, just brushing her temple in a rolling wave.

"Leo, you the barber!" she laughed, standing carefully. The hair rustled as she moved, but stayed in place. When she stilled, she looked like a statue. A beautiful statue of Venus, perhaps.

"It won't move," Leo chuckled. "Go ahead, get outta here. You're going to be late. And if anyone asks, you had an early-morning appointment here." He handed her a slip of paper. "Paul says he'll cover for you."

April planted a kiss on Leo's beak and hugged him carefully. He blushed and ran his beak gently over the front of her forehead. She giggled and stepped away, out into the bedroom.

The memory faded.

_Time to get back to work,_ I thought. The memories had relaxed me, which allowed my depleted energy to restore itself. I set back to work with a lighter heart, though no less concentration, on my task.

_Regular POV_

When the highest tower was finally re-roofed, Mikey stepped back and looked over the castle again. It satisfied him; everything was as it should be.

He looked out of the eye and witnessed the chaos beyond. _Time to wake dear ol' Barber Brother up,_ Mikey chuckled. He faced the castle and thought about re-booting it. Alastha had taught him how; Mikey used his energy to fill the castle again.

_**Well done, my brother,**_a voice applauded. Mikey felt tears running down his physical face as a bright shined from Leo's mind-castle and it seemed to spring to life.

He thudded back into his body and discovered that he was crying. He stirred stiffly and was immediately grabbed in a hug but large arms.

The tears fell harder as he felt the scales rustling against his thick skin. Raph and Don gasped happily and ran to his side, touching him gently to let him know they were there, too. Raphael and Alastha removed themselves and let the brothers rejoice.

Mikey was exhausted, but seeing Leo awake made him push that aside. He cuddled with his Kavara lovingly. It was ten minutes before Leo loosened his grip and engulfed Raph and Don into the hug as well. Raph didn't even tense, and tears slid silently down the vampire's plastron.

"Mikey… Thank you," Leo whispered. His voice was just as warm and deep as it had been; Mikey nodded and snuggled closer into Leo's side.


	31. Chapter 31

Leo finally released them and sat back, grinning

**A/N: Sorry this took so long. I had a lot going on. But I'm fine, I promise. (Aside from a small cut, but we all get those.) Hope you're all enjoying! Thanks for reading!**

Leo finally released them and sat back, grinning. Raph and Don sat on the cot, facing him, as Mikey took over his lap. Kavara wrapped his arms around Mikey and rested his chin on Kalian's head.

Mikey sighed and closed his eyes, falling asleep instantly. Leo panicked for a moment before chuckling softly and shifting so Mikey could curl up in his warm wing.

Donnie grinned and stood. "We'll leave you to your sleep, shall we?" he gently teased, pulling Raph up after him. Leo smiled and nodded thankfully, yawning.

"Sleep well," Raph whispered, glancing at Mikey. He put a hand on Mikey's brow and muttered, "Thanks for bringing him back, bro." Then he was gone; Leo chuckled and lay down, wrapping his arms around Mikey, followed by his wings.

His last thought was that he should really get up and visit Sky and Lionel, but Mikey shifted against him and Leo felt himself drifting off. He shrugged and gave in to sleep.

_Later…_

Mikey awoke slowly, a headache building between his ear holes and thumping painfully. He sat up with a wince and realized that Leo was awake as well, sitting on the floor and meditating.

He was thinking, though, not meditating. Mikey Felt his thoughts, and he wasn't trying. Leo gasped at that moment and opened his eyes, and Mikey felt himself panic slightly as well.

Alastha popped in then, grinning. She frowned, though, when Mikey stood up hurriedly and then fell back with a groan, and Leo squeezed his eyes shut in pain. Alastha hurried over to him and put a hand on his scales. He was burning up, his scales raised to help expel heat. He also spread his wings on impulse.

Alastha ducked around and felt Mikey. He was feverish, though not as bad, and he didn't open his eyes, just groaned.

"Reaction headache?" Alastha asked quietly. Mikey nodded, and Leo winced in more pain. Mikey sucked in a breath and held completely still for a moment. Alastha glanced between the two and her eyes widened in shock.

Quickly, she clamped a Shield around Leo, who immediately relaxed. He seemed to steam, since the perspiration caused by his fever suddenly was dried as he heated his scales and closed his wings.

Standing, he joined Alastha by Mikey's side. The youngest turtle grimaced in pain and Leo felt something battering at his mind, but it was distant.

Alastha spoke calmly, but Leo could sense her unease. "You two Bonded. I don't know how… But you Bonded. You feel his pain and he feels yours. That's why you were hurting this morning; his headache was painful, and he was trying to banish it. He sent it to you, instead."

"Can we… Control it?" Leo asked hesitantly. "I don't want to put him in jeopardy if I get hurt."

Alastha heard the unspoken words: _But I will gladly take his pain._ She nodded. "You can control it, Leo, if you work at it. You can eventually learn how to talk to each other without casting a spell."

He smiled and nodded. "Until then, however, I'm going to be shielding myself," he sighed. "Do we have something for his headache? It's a doozy."

She nodded and got up, heading for the mansion. Leo sat down next to Mikey and put a hand on his brow, wishing he could take the pain away but Alastha's Shield prevented him from doing so. Mikey gripped his hand and squeezed in pain, and Leo murmured comfortingly.

For some reason, the memory of helping Sky through Lionel's birth popped up in his mind. He shook it away and stroked Mikey's temple. Two hard lumps on Kalian's brow caused Kavara to wonder, and he rubbed them gently. Mikey groaned in pain and Leo stopped, worried that he had hurt Mikey.

Alastha came back in with Raphael in tow, both holding cups of hot tea. Raphael handed his to the winged turtle and Alastha sat Mikey up, gently giving him sips of the tea at a time.

Mikey was soon asleep, drugged by the herbs in the tea. Kavara, even through the Shield, was feeling slightly tipsy because of the Bond.

Raphael took him outside to walk around and stretch his wings. When he exited the tent, he was assaulted by several soft bombs. It took a moment for Leo to understand that the "bombs" were children, hugging him. He spread his wings over them and hugged them all; Lea and Ralph – now nearly two years old – were closest to him, and the rest hugged anyone within reach and clustered around Kavara.

Sky stood off to the side with Lionel, and Alastha called the children away so Leo could go to his wife and son. Lionel, just past one and a half years, blabbered happily when Leo came over. He kissed Sky passionately and then cuddled their son while she stood next to him, content knowing that he was okay.

Lionel licked Leo's face when Kavara held his son up, startling a laugh out of both parents. Lionel fanned his small wings and shrieked in joy as Kavara gently tossed him up and then caught him again.

"He missed you," Sky whispered. "He kept asking, "Where's Daddy?" and looking around." She said it gently, without accusation, and Leo realized that she was getting too used to his being busy or gone.

He felt terrible. He had missed so much of what was going on that he had neglected his wife. Tentatively, he moved Lionel to one arm and used the other to pull Sky against his chest. He leaned down and kissed her soundly, letting himself revel in that kiss as he hadn't since their wedding.

They were interrupted by a whistle and cheer from two turtles who grinned when Leo shot his brothers a death glare and turned back to Sky. Don and Raph chuckled and headed for the woods, two bachelors going out to enjoy the hot sun.

Leo wanted to go with them, get caught up on events and start planning an attack on Leonardo, but he wouldn't leave his wife again. Smiling gently, he steered her back into the house. The nurse in the nursery agreed to watch over Lionel and the two adults headed back outside.

Sky asked, "Where are we going?" to which Leo just chuckled and led the way to a clearing with a pond in it. Raph and Don had been here recently, but they were gone now.

The water was cool, the grass soft. Leo kissed Sky and then looked around and smiled. "We're gonna have a date, like we did back before all this happened." He gestured to his wings and then around them in a general direction towards the mansion.

She giggled. "We're married. How can we have a date?"

"Because I said so," Leo pouted. They both grinned and Sky started for the water. Leo watched as she waded in, fully clothed, and then turned back and laughed, gesturing for him to join her.

He stepped back and then ran forward. She squeaked and tried to swim away, but he launched into the center of the pool and cannon-balled a wave of water that swamped her. Laughing, Sky and Leo joined in the shallows, Leo floating on his back and Sky standing next to him.

He pulled her onto his chest and spread his wings to keep them afloat like a boat. She chuckled and kissed him as he kicked his legs gently and directed them into the middle of the pond.

"I love you," he sighed, splashing her gently. She squeaked with indignation and reached over to the water, getting her hand wet, and placing it on his face to get him wet again. The sun was drying anything out of the water very quickly, and she was feeling hot.

Leo's right wing twitched and splashed her with a whole bunch of water, cooling the woman down and causing her to laugh.

_Back at the mansion…_

Alastha looked down at Mikey, who stirred and groaned painfully again. She bit her lip, not knowing what to do now. They were Bonded on a very deep level, deeper than even father and son. It bordered on Mind-Sharing, but it was, in essence, a mere Bond. Just terribly strong.

Mikey stirred and opened his eyes, then shut them quickly. It was dusk, but his eyes felt like they were burning. His brow hurt, too, and it felt like something was trying to burst from his skull.

Alastha sat him up gently and offered more of the drugged tea, but he shook his head and tried to forget the pain. Raphael entered and murmured quietly that Leo was back, and the titan turtle followed a moment later, entering and going right to Mikey's side.

"How're you feeling?" Kavara asked gently. Kalian shook his head feebly and felt like throwing up; Leo winced.

"Alastha… We need to learn," Leo finally said. "We need to learn how to shut each other out, how to control ourselves, how to control this Bond."

She nodded and stood up, gesturing for Leo to help Mikey into the mansion. The smallest turtle collapsed in his arms, and Kavara gingerly picked him up, following the woman into the house. It was quiet; the children had gone to bed, the adults were talking quietly in the lounges or sleeping, and the critters outside were silent except for the occasional owl hoot or cricket chirp.

"Alright, sit down," Alastha said softly when they got into her workroom. Leo set Mikey down carefully and sat by his Kalian, keeping the small turtle sitting straight with a touch of his wing. "I'm going to enter your mind, Mikey, and try to see what's hurting you. Leo, stay nearby, and Monitor me. Keep an eye on Mikey, too. Then we'll get to the matter of controlling your Bond, but Mikey needs to be released of this headache."

Leo nodded silently and shifted so Mikey was leaning against his plastron. Alastha closed her eyes and took a deep breath; Mikey copied her. Leo Watched them both carefully.

Alastha looked at Mikey's castle with her Inner Eye and discovered that it was perfectly healthy. Nothing was crumbling, the "ground" it sat on was smooth and flawlessly strong…

She turned her Gaze outward, on his physical body, and was nearly shocked back into her own body. Two _horns_ were trying to grow themselves from his skull.

_No wonder he's having such a bad day,_ Alastha thought to herself. _That's gotta _hurt_. Poor Mikey._

She went through her options. She couldn't cut the Bond and stop these horns from growing. She couldn't take them away while the Bond was in play.

Gritting her teeth, Alastha chose her third option. Using her power, she _pushed_ on the horns, forcing them to grow rapidly. Mikey trembled in pain but knew why she was doing this and stayed silent, gritting his own teeth.

Leo could feel his Kalian's pain and cuddled the small turtle closer. Murmuring, Leo wished that he didn't hurt everyone he touched. Mikey squirmed against him as if he had heard that thought and disagreed.

Suddenly, the sick sound of flesh tearing and bone splintering sounds from Mikey's head. The youngest turtle cried out in pain and tears leaked from his eyes; Leo shouted in alarm as he saw the two budding horns appearing.

_Screw this!_ Leo growled to himself, tearing down Alastha's Sheild. He felt Mikey's pain and gasped, but forcefully banished it and welcomed more. Mikey subsided his pain-filled sobs and cried quietly. Alastha opened her eyes and gazed sorrowfully at the pair.

She stepped out, knowing that they needed to deal with this newest development. Kavara gently held his Kalian, nuzzling the small turtle's shoulder. Mikey turned into Leo's arms and cried, his horns glistening in the light, blood covered. Blood ran down his face, onto his Kavara, but neither cared.


	32. Chapter 32

Eventually, Mikey stopped crying though he was still bleeding

Eventually, Mikey stopped crying though he was still bleeding. Kavara released him and gently inspected the horn bases. They sprouted from his skull like a deer's, though they were only with one prong.

A servant came in and handed Leo some soft cloths and bandaging tools, which Leo used to clean up the blood on them both and then wrap Mikey's head in the rest. He put some cream on it to numb the bases and sealed the skin together with a touch of magic.

Mikey leaned against him when Leo was done, raising a hand to feel his horns. They were tender if he moved them, and still slightly soft, but he liked the feel of them nonetheless.

Gently, he stood up again, feeling like a hot bath. Leo followed stiffly, giving Mikey time to feel Leo's horns and then his own. When Kavara looked at him with a puzzled expression, Mikey grinned and explained, "Your's are harder than mine," in a pouty voice. Kavara sighed with tolerance and chuckled.

"Let's get you into a hot tub and then I'm going to go grab some food and join you," Leo said. He popped his wing joint with a wince as he stretched it out and Mikey chortled, leading the way to the hot tub section of the mansion. There were three Jacuzzis, four hot tubs for three to four people, and a large cool swimming pool.

As Mikey carefully slid into the hot water, Leo went to the kitchen avoiding the likely-full dining room. He asked a servant if trays with three full meals could be brought to the pool room. The servant, a blond-haired man with green eyes, nodded and went to arrange it, telling Leo that the trays would be brought to him soonest.

With that in mind, Leo hurried back to hot tubs to find Mikey relaxing in the largest of them, head still bandaged. Kavara knelt gently beside him and removed the wrappings, since wounds had to air a bit as well, and Mikey stirred and woke.

He looked up and smiled slightly before slumping further into the water, letting it lap against his bottom lip, and closing his eyes again. Leo chuckled and slipped in, his large body raising the water levels a bit and causing water to lap around the top of Mikey's snout. Mikey sat up a little more, shot a mocking glare at Kavara, and settled again, his head unwrapped with leaning against a pillow of the clean wrappings to keep it from hitting the hard tile.

Kavara spreads his wings slightly in the hot water and reveled in the heat. Mikey grinned as the large turtle sank deeper into the water, eventually sitting in the bottom and letting his gills breathe for him.

Mikey lay still, letting himself fall asleep with the reassuring presence of Kavara and soothing effects of the hot tub.

Kavara brought his head back up out of the water when a servant entered the room bearing a trolley with three trays on it. He nodded in thanks as the servant put them down by the edge of the tub and strolled back out.

"Mikey, our dinner's here," Kavara called softly. Kalian woke, smelled the food, and set upon it eagerly. Kavara chuckled and let him eat; he munched lazily on a sandwich with ham and cheddar on it, but not mustard or mayo. It was just like he liked it; the ham was cooked slowly, the cheese was cold and smooth, and the lettuce and onions were fresh and crunchy.

"Yum," Mikey grunted once he was done. He had finished two of the trays and drank all of the water provided. Kavara chuckled and brushed the crumbs from his hands onto the tray, turning to put them away. A weight settled on his shoulder, and he looked over to find Mikey nudging his with his horns.

"What are you doing?" Kavara asked curiously.

"They're itchy," Mikey explained, rubbing his horns harder against Leo's scales. Raising an eye ridge, Kavara bristled his scales to make them scratchier. Mikey rubbed his horns furiously against Leo's shoulder, and Kavara saw little bits of horn peeling off.

"Here, now, stop that," he ordered mock-crossly, grabbing Mikey's horns and rubbing them with his hands instead. "You're flaking. I'm betting you need to keep your horns oiled. Or maybe that's just the way they are."

Mikey didn't say anything, merely leaning into Leo's touch. Carefully, Leo rubbed Mikey's horns and inspected them. He discovered, to his surprise, that the coverings were flaking off, but Mikey whined when he stopped scratching their pair of horns, Kavara continued.

Eventually, Kalian shook his head loose from Kavara and rubbed the horns against the large turtle's shoulder again. "Your hands aren't helping anymore," Mikey explained. Leo sighed and leaned back, nodding slightly.

It took an hour for Kalian to be satisfied, and his horns glowed brilliantly when he moved away from Kavara and dunked his head in the tub. His horns felt better than ever, and he supposed that they were just shedding the top layer. He'd ask Donatello or Raphael later.

Kavara climbed out of the hot tub and walked into the pool, reveling in the cool water as it rinsed away the pieces of horn stuck in his shoulder scales. Kalian joined him after a moment, swimming lazily back and forth. Kavara opened his wings and began cleaning them meticulously, as he rarely had the time to do. Mikey helped, splashing them constantly.

Raph and Don came in to find Leo cleaning the mid section of his left wing and fending off Mikey and his "helpful personality" at the same time. Raph chuckled and dove in, cleaning himself of the sweat from the dojo. Don shrugged and slipped in gracefully after him, surfacing near Leo and helping the dragon-turtle clean his wings.

"Bro, you've gotta be kidding me," Raph laughed when he came up and saw Mikey's horns. He immediately grabbed them, at which Mikey tossed his head. Don looked up and gasped slightly, but only as if he was confirming something. Alastha must have told him.

Mikey spent the next few minutes in a headlock from Raph, who tugged on his horns with the delight of a little kid presented with a new toy. Indeed, Raph told Mikey, the youngest turtle's horns would be a valuable source of "play". Raph also discovered that he could Mikey nod or shake his head and had a time of making him do both interchangeably at high speeds.

Leo, meanwhile, was kept from helping Kalian by Don, who was taking this opportunity to inspect Kavara's wings and make sure nothing was strained. He had Leo open and close them at varying speeds, once so slow that Kavara considered snapping them open into Don's face out of spite.

Eventually, Raph released Mikey and came over, and the three small turtles latched onto Kavara's wing, dragging them back and forth through the water. Leo stood it with the patience of a father letting his kids play with his beard.

Alastha came into the room and leaned against the doorway, watching as the brothers splashed each other. It was hard to remember, sometimes, that they were only nineteen, but here she had proof that they were still young.

Kavara caught her scent and turned, followed by his brothers, with a sheepish grin.

"I came in to warn you that the children are having swimming lessons very soon," she said dryly. All four brothers started and jumped out of the pool; it would become _very_ crowded, and children had a way of climbing all over anything in their path.

Kavara shook himself dry, spraying water everywhere, and then shook again with the rustling clicks of scales setting themselves straight. He "fluffed" his wings slightly and then walked away, smirking as Raph complained that Leo had gotten them soaked again.

Raph shook his wings of the worst water and put on a towel like a, "normal turtle". Mikey and Don toweled themselves dry and Don helped Raph towel his wings gently.

The four brothers retired to the front yard and lay in the sun. Kavara spread his wings on the grass and basked contentedly. Raph and Don lay down on their plastrons facing each other, talking quietly about some project they were working on. Kalian curled up next to Kavara, under his wing in the shade. Since Kavara's wings took in warmth, they also created a cool place underneath them, when Leo wished it.

Don was fascinated by Leo's wings; he could make them take in enormous amounts of heat and store it all, creating a cool place in the shade of them. Or he could make them expel that heat from his core, which Don estimated was at a very high temperature.

Kavara drifted off in the hot sun, subtly relaxing.

Beneath his wing, Kalian curled up close to Kavara and also slept, face and horns pressed tightly against Kavara's shoulder.

Mikey dreamed. At first, the dreams were about early memories, like the first time Splinter taught them ninjistsu, or the last time he saw Leo as a regular mutant turtle, or when Don had created his first full-sized vehicle, or even Raph's first temper tantrum.

Then the dreams turned more recent, though they were of nothing Mikey remembered.

_Kavara stood over him, a bloody gauntlet on his hand. Mikey whimpered, curled up on the stone floor below his one-time brother. Kavara sneered and formed a fist, punching again. Mikey cried out in pain and fear, the first sound he'd uttered during this "session"._

_Now Kavara was holding a katana, perfectly like the one Mikey associated with the old Leo. "Kneel, slave," Kavara sail silkily. Mikey knelt, he had no choice. Kavara swept the blade down; it lodged in Mike's shoulder, shallow but painful. Kalian was silent, though tears streamed down his face._

_Another one, but this time, Kavara held a whip. He was striking Mikey again and again, flaying the skin from Mike's shell. "Obey me, slave!" Kavara roared. Mike cringed but refused again. This wasn't his leader, and he wouldn't obey this turtle. With a snarl, Kavara threw the whip aside and grabbed Mikey. Mikey was dragged up against a wall, and Kavara pressed the smaller turtle against it with his body. "You will obey," Kavara purred silkily._

_No, no! _Mikey thought, desperately trying to wake up. "Please… No… Kavara! Kavara!"

Kavara woke as Mikey cried out, rubbing sleep from his eyes and lifting his wings. Don and Raph also woke, though slowly. By the time they were conscious and able to assist, Kalian was sobbing in Kavara's arms. Kavara himself looked like a spider had bitten him; he was skittish and jumpy, and his scales were dotted with pale spots.

Raph looked at Don, who nodded slightly and jumped up, running for Alastha or Raphael. Raph sat nearby and watched as the two brothers cuddled. Mikey was still crying, huddled in the larger turtle's arms, and Kavara's scales were shifting colors slowly, never stopping.

Alastha and Raphael appeared, following Donnie. Raph moved out of the way and they both sat down near Leo and Mikey. Neither looked up, though Mikey stiffened and fell silent.

Alastha put a hand on Mike's shell.

All hell broke loose.


	33. Hell Unleashed

AN: Everyone, give a hand to Puldoh, Lady Katana4544 (on SS), and Neatsue for kicking me back into writing gear… Sorry this is taking me so long

**AN: Everyone, give a hand to Puldoh, Lady Katana4544 (on SS), and Neatsue for kicking me back into writing gear… Sorry this is taking me so long. I'm planning the next few chapters VERY carefully so it works with the RPing I'm doing on Stealthy Stories. And, yes, I have an account on there. My username is the same: "Koriat Cyredanthem", if you wanna go there. The link's in my bio. So… here's the answer to WHAT hell broke lose… grins evilly**

Kavara hissed in anger and fear as what seemed like grey smoke clouded his vision. He stood, still holding Mikey, and looked around angrily. Hazily, three figures seemed to appear in front of him. They were too thin to be his brothers, and he watched them warily.

He could hear Raph cursing loudly on his right, and Don was somewhere behind him, but Raphael and Alastha were silent. Kavara couldn't feel or see them.

Suddenly, a net fell on top of him and Mikey. Mikey gasped slightly as Kavara tried to rip it off without dropping his Kalian.

Rough hands seized both sets of horns and yanked both heads back. Kavara grunted in pain as his neck stretched, and he heard Mikey sobbing somewhere close by. The smaller turtle had been pulled from his arms.

He heard Raph shout, and then Don screamed. Mikey was crying silently, sniffling, and apparently in some type of pain.

Cold steel was forced against Leo's throat. He froze and breathed in with a hiss.

"So… This is my pathetic counterpart," a silky voice purred cruelly. Kavara's breath caught in his throat: the voice was _his!_

_No,_ a voice in his head said. _It's deeper, crueler, and has a touch that makes me shiver._

Leonardo chuckled darkly and stepped around Leo, removing the knife. The fog was lifting, and as it did, Kavara could see his brothers. Raph and Don were bound, hand and foot, and strapped to separate tables. Mike was being held by two men, his arms behind his shell.

Leonardo was tilting Mikey's chin up, gazing at the youngest of them with a tender expression. Kavara growled loudly, at which Leonardo turned around and glared at him.

Leonardo was as tall as Kavara, and thickly built. His organic parts were covered in dense armor, his robotic parts sleek and obviously high-tech. His good eye burned with anger and hate, and his mechanical one seemed to stare with a red glow.

"Take the house," the cyborg ground out. Humans streamed into the house, and soon it was alive with screams and shouts of confusion and panic. Kavara's wings trembled, and he could hear Mikey gasping softly. The young turtle had locked eyes with Kavara, who could feel his emotions so strongly that the largest turtle was nearly ready to crumble with grief.

Leonardo walked around Kavara, inspecting him, before doing the same to his brothers.

The humans started appearing again. They were holding the children, and most of the younglings were crying. Lea, though terrified, was comforting a three-year-old. Amanda was doing the same to a one-year-old she had in her arms.

The adults were brought out next, at gun point. Herding all of the humans and children together, the men made them sit down and watch silently as the seven turtles were lined up, shoulder to shoulder, and forced to kneel. Leonardo walked down the line, silent.

He finally stopped in front of Raphael and his brothers, smirking at them. Almost before Kavara could blink, Leonardo had swung a fist. Raphael gasped in pain as the metal fist hit his shoulder, and the crack of a bone breaking echoed through the night.

Leonardo sneered at Raphael and motioned for his minions to take the humans, children, and his brothers to the trucks that now drove up, headlights glaring. Raph and Kavara closed their eyes and turned their heads from the bright glare.

Leonardo walked back towards Kavara and his brothers, who knelt silently. He inspected each one closely before smirking and having his men load them up as well.

Kavara's wings were chained to his body, as were Raph's. The largest turtle was then forced onto his plastron and tied to the bed of the truck they were in, and though he struggled to keep the chains loose, their capturers yanked tighter until he was nearly one with the metal.

Vamp and forced down next to him, and then Mike and Don were tied to the sides of the truck.

Mikey's head hit the side of the truck with enough force to make him see stars when the truck roared to life. Kavara and Raph were thrown against their chains, and Don grunted as his hands were caught between his shell and the truck.

Mike tried to see outside the truck, but he couldn't. He settled for watching Kavara, who was struggling to free himself. Raph was squirming as well, but it was obvious to Mikey that the smaller turtle didn't have a chance of breaking out.

Eventually, after what felt like an hour, they stopped and were hauled out again. A rough bag was forced over Mikey's head, catching on his horns and ripping two holes. He couldn't see much, just the large shape of his brother. Something was… wrong, however.

It looked like Leo's wings were smaller. It took a minute for Mikey to realize that two people were holding Kavara's arms. He turned his head to look for Don and Raph and saw what the thought was Don's outline fall to the ground. Men surrounded him, and Mikey could hear the sick sound of hard boots connecting with the tender skin between the plastron and shell.

Raph growled from right behind Mikey, and then a high-pitched whining sounded and Raph practically shrieked in pain. Don was next, and then something was pressed against Mikey's shoulder and intense pain flooded through him. His vision darkened, his last thought of the raging pain that swept through him.

_Kavara's POV:_

I hear the shrieks of my brothers and roar in outrage. Two humans have my arms, but they are weak. I strain and break the cuffs holding my wrists together. The men shout as I free me arms and shake, trying to get my wings out so I can hit people with them.

Leonardo growls from nearby and I swing around to face him, snarling angrily. I hear several guns cock and hiss.

"Calm down, my dear counterpart," Leonardo purrs, watching me. I feel like my breath is taken away as he steps closer; Lea is being held by him, and she is obviously in pain. "Or my daughter will suffer."

"Monster," I breathe, but I lower my arms. "She is your _daughter_," I growl at him.

"Perhaps the daughter of my former self," Leonardo sneers. "But she is a useless brat now. Useless, other than to keep you in your place." He tightens his grip on her arm and she sniffles.

I stiffen and back up a step. I can't see Lea harmed. Leonardo sneers at me again. "You are not a true Leonardo, pathetic one. You are weak!"

I shake my head. "No, it is you who are weak. You hurt others because you cannot bear to be hurt."

Leonardo snarls and pulls a gun from his belt, pressing the muzzle to Lea's temple. "Keep that up and your precious Lea won't be alive," he threatens.

I keep back a gasp and my scales turn pure white, the color of submission. Leonardo motions for me to kneel; I do so immediately.

_Regular POV:_

Lea watched as Kavara, kneeling, was bound again. His arms were tied together tightly, and something was strapped to his horns, pulling his head back to expose his neck. She could see his white shimmer from the shiny scales, even in this darkness.

Sky cuddled Lionel as she heard the shouts and screams of her husband's brothers. Next to her, Alastha was holding two younglings, trying to calm them down. The other adults were, as well. Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello were within this group.

She heard Kavara roar and hugged Lionel tightly to her chest. He was bawling madly, his little wings flapping.

Suddenly, a thump sounded. From hearing that sound a lot, Sky knew it was Leo kneeling. He was defeated, then.

One of the attackers, a nasty man with drunken eyes, sneered at her and grabbed for Lionel. She cried and tried to keep him, but another man came and grabbed her arms, forcing them open.

"Lionel!" Sky screamed, sobbing as the man held Lionel like a rag doll. Lionel cried heartily and flapped his little wings.

"So…" the guard said drolly. "The freak with wings breeds." He glared at Sky. "Silence, woman!"

Sky sobbed quietly, watching as Lionel tried to bite his handler. The guard shook him roughly, and then threw the toddler to the ground. "You will be silent!" Lionel shook, lying on the ground.

Suddenly, the guard was pushed aside and a large turtle came. For a moment, Sky thought it was her Leo, but then the red glow of Leonardo's mechanical eye caught her attention. Lionel sniffed at looked at the cyborg, his wings twitching.

"My counterpart's children are… Interesting," Leonardo purred, picking Lionel up as gently as Leo would have. He inspected Lionel and smiled. "Yes… I shall raise you to be my son."

"No!" Sky screamed, lunging forward. Two men grabbed her and threw her back, guarding their master.

Leonardo grinned evilly and stalked away, Lionel held gently in his right arm. Sky fell to her knees, sobbing. Alastha knelt down next to her and murmured into her ear comfortingly, though the Mage felt like puking.

Raphael and his brothers glared at Leonardo's retreating back as the cyborg went back over to Kavara, who was gazing at his son in his captor's arms with a mix of terrible fear and anger, the latter directed at Leonardo.

"Oh, come now, Leonardo," the cyborg laughed. "Your son shall be raised in the best of ways. You have nothing to fear for him."

Kavara kept silent but his glaring gaze at Leonardo was not hard to decode. The anger and hate in it was enough to start a fire, but the cyborg merely chuckled and walked off. Lionel, catching a glimpse of his father, bawled loudly, shrieking in anger and flapping his wings.

Leonardo rolled his eyes and put a hand over the youngling's mouth. He hissed angrily when Lionel's sharp teeth bit down upon the flesh, drawing blood. Cussing heartily at the little one, Leonardo tossed Lionel like a doll towards Kavara.

Sky shrieked as Lionel cried out and Kavara roared angrily, tugging against his chains. Lionel's tiny wings opened and slowed him enough to have the little one thump gently into his father's lap. Kavara gazed fearfully down at his son, wishing with all his being that he could free his arms, but they were tightly bound.

Lionel crawled to his hand and knees, silent, and nuzzled against Kavara happily, purring. Kavara breathed out in relief and crooned softly. Leonardo stalked back over and watched silently as Lionel crawled up Kavara's side to perch on his shoulder, nuzzling his father's head with his own. Kavara kept an eye on Leonardo as he comforted his son.

Sky slowed her tears forcefully as she saw Lionel cuddling with Kavara and stood back up, taking another child to comfort as she watched Leonardo and Kavara. She was very surprised at Leonardo's next announcement.

"Take it back to its mother," Leonardo growled at his guards, gesturing at Lionel. Warily, one walked up with his finger on the trigger, pointed at Lionel's head. Kavara spoke softly to Lionel, who nodded seriously and stayed still as the man picked him up and carried him over to Sky again.

Sky hugged Lionel close and glared at Leonardo, who smirked. "Enough," Leonardo laughed. "Get the humans and children into the prisons. Put the turtles in the lab."

His men hastened to obey, and everyone was moved accordingly. Kavara was released of the bonds on his arms and forced to wear a heavy harness that weighed him down quite a bit. He was led into a stall-like cubicle and chained to all three heavy steel walls.

Mikey was put in one on his right, Raph on his left, with Donnie on Mikey's right. Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo were strapped to three tables within sight of the four brothers.

"And now…" Leonard purred as he strode in, "the fun begins."


	34. Aftermath

AN: RUN, PLOTBUNNIES

**AN: RUN, PLOTBUNNIES!! Sorry for the really late update.**

Kavara winced slightly as Leonardo looked them over, much like a hostler picking a horse for his master to ride. He shifted in his ties and they clanked loudly.

"Ah, yes, you will do," Leonardo chuckled, motioning for his guards. Kavara growled slightly as they came forward, bearing what looked suspiciously like a muzzle. It was strapped around his head, and straps were converted to hold onto his horns. It had a thick steel plate in front of it, so fire would just rebound into Kavara's face.

They untied him from the stall and herded him to another room. The door clanged shut when Leonardo entered the other room.

Mikey tried to look over the walls of his stall but couldn't; he walked as far forward as he could in the cold grey walls and looked at Donatello, who was right across from him. "Donatello," Mikey hissed. "Where are we?"

Raphael's voice answered instead; Donatello was gazing sadly at the door only he and his brothers could see. "We're in Leonardo's fortress, Mike," Raphael sighed. "Impossibly hard to find. Very well-guarded and manned, as far as I can see. He's a technical mastermind now, with his team of scientists and engineers." Raphael scoffed.

Don's voice rang out. "Mikey, can you Feel him?"

Raphael quickly nixed that idea. "No, Mike. We could lose both of you."

Mikey mumbled something numbly and sat down on the floor of his prison dejectedly. He drew his knees up to his chest and wrapped both arms around them, the wrists tied together and making it slightly uncomfortable.

Raph sat down in his stall as well, his wings twitching as he began a bit of meditation to clear his mind.

Don had enough slack in his restraints to sit against the wall, and so he did with his legs crossed underneath him. He leaned his head back against the cool steel and began thinking.

Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo were silent, lying still on their respective tables. Donatello and Michelangelo were thinking about their wives, kids, and nieces/nephews/in-laws. Raphael thought about how they might break free and looks solemnly at the room they were in. It was basically a small barn.

Four stalls, though how Leonardo had known Leo and his brothers were here was beyond Raphael. _Oh, wait, duh_, Raphael thought to himself. _Of course. He caught Mikey before, and that means he was hanging around the mansion. _Raphael growled at himself for not seeing that Mikey's return was to put them off guard for Leonardo to move in.

_Later…_

Mikey sat bolt upright, his mouth working like a fish on the bank. He looked past Donatello's table at something only he could see. Donatello, noticing this, quickly tried to reach out to Mike with a mental hand, but then the young turtle _screeched_.

Everyone else gasped slightly as Mikey's scream tore through the room. It was cut off suddenly and Mike collapsed, breathing heavily. Donatello watched him carefully. "Mikey, are you okay?" he called.

Mike groaned and sat up, holding his head in his hands. "Th-they did s-s-something," he stuttered. "S-someth-thing b-bad."

"What, Mikey? Come on, talk to me," Raphael ordered.

"I… dunno. Just… pain." Mikey shook his head feebly and suddenly there was a loud clang from the door where Kavara had been taken. Mikey forced a loud, shuddering breath through his body.

"Where, Mikey?" Michelangelo asked loudly.

"My… My head hurts," Mikey whispered. Only Donatello caught it, and he repeated it so everyone else could hear.

Another clang from the room, louder, and then the door opened slowly. Leonardo strutted through and closed the door behind him with a foot, going over to the tables and staring evilly at the occupants. He chuckled and walked out, leaving them scratching their heads. Usually, Leonardo was quick to extract pain from prisoners.

They understood why a moment later when Leonardo re-entered. He wasn't alone: unbound and unrestrained, Kavara followed in his wake, wings half-open like a bristling guard who thinks there is a threat.

Mikey Felt the difference in Kavara and whimpered quietly. The large turtle didn't even glance over, just stood behind Leonardo and glowered at them all without a particular direction.

"Now… I have a meeting in another world soon. You six will stay here and behave. If you do, Quintar here will be alive when we return."

"Quintar?" Raphael scoffed quietly. Kavara focused on him and growled slightly, but said nothing.

"Indeed. "Changed One". It fits." Leonardo strutted out, quickly followed by Kavara/Quintar.

"Quintar, get a troop together and prepare my ship," Leonardo ordered as they walked out.

"Yes, Master," Quintar answered gruffly, breaking off in the hallway and heading in a separate direction. Leonardo watched him; he still moved stiffly.

_I'll have to perfect this, _Leonardo told himself, wandering towards his private quarters. _Quintar proves useful already. He is smart, loyal, obedient… Not to mention, the best guard I could ever have._

He entered his suite thinking about possible uses for such a titanic turtle. There was the obvious guard, but perhaps this counterpart could be used in more subtle ways?

A woman came forward with a plate of Leonardo's favorite fruits, but Leonardo waved the servant off and strutted into his private labs. He took a sample of Quintar's blood out of a slot in his metal side and quickly put it in the freezer until he could work on it more.

Then he sauntered towards his hanger. Waiting at attention was a troop of ten guards with pristine suits and clean guns. Quintar stood at their head and bowed very deeply to Leonardo.

"We are ready to depart, Master," he said quietly.

"Good. Get on the ship and prepare for take-off," Leonardo ordered, brushing by his guards and climbing up the short ladder into the hovercraft vehicle he used in place of cars. It was cleaner, quieter, and more efficient.

Quintar sat opposite him in the hovercraft at Leonardo's insistence, the rest of the guards sitting in the back where they could not be seen. Leonardo was heading to an important meeting with the governor of a large city in another world and couldn't risk being seen with so many guards or he might be suspected of something.

The driver started up the hovercraft and they glided out of the hanger and into the world outside where the dawn was just ending and the sun was bright. Quintar seemed to wince behind his mask and covered his eyes; there were large glass windows in the hovercraft that let a lot of sunlight in.

Not wanting his only guard to be blind, Leonardo ordered one of the guards in back to find something to help darken the mask. A thin strip of black cloth was passed forward; it was from the medkit, used to cover a person's eyes if they were blinding by a flash grenade. Leonardo handed it to Quintar, who bowed his head in thanks and slipped it over the blue of his mask.

He sat straighter and grinned slightly. "Much better. Thank you, Master."

_Back in Leonardo's Fortress:_

Mikey winced as Leonardo left, Kavara/Quintar in tow. He shut his mental barriers tightly and lay down on his plastron, banging his forehead once against the hard floor before sighing and turning his head to rest his cheek on the steel.

Raphael and Raph thought moodily, the older one lying on his table and staring at and through the ceiling, not really seeing anything. Raph gazed dejectedly at the wall, while Don shuffled around as he paced.

Donatello kept a watchful eye on Mikey, knowing that Leo's "problem" could affect the youngest turtle badly.

Michelangelo hummed a soothing song quietly to himself as he drifted in his thoughts. It wasn't that he was calm; he just knew that he had to be calm. Raphael and Donatello would come up with the escape plan; his best bet was to keep everyone else together so his older brothers would have three extra turtles to help in their escape.

Mikey breathed deeply, feeling the Bond between him and Kavara strengthen constantly by the smallest of increments. It was… Beautiful. The word rose unbidden in his mind, like an echo of his thought.

He turned his head slightly to peer at the wall across from him quizzically, wondering how something so cold and grey could capture his attention.

_Elsewhere:_

Sky cooed gently to the younglings gathered around her. Lionel cuddled into her chest, crying quietly. Alastha was comforting more of the younglings, and the other humans had a child to hug and soothe.

"Who is Leonardo?" Sky asked Beth. Beth winced but shook her head when Sky offered to take the question back.

"He was my husband," Beth started, sitting against the wall of their prison. It was a large, steel room with one door and a couple of air vents. The vents were covered with a thin network of lasers that fried what they touched. Sky joined her on the floor, cradling Lionel and another young girl who was cuddled in one arm.

"When we first met, I thought we'd be so happy together. He loved his brothers more than anything, and I could understand that. But he loved me, too. He managed to balance it all out. He spent hours with his brothers, training, meditating, patrolling… Then he'd come home and spend a few hours just with me. We'd talk, listen to music, read… Anything, but we'd do it together.

"One night, everyone was asleep. I had moved into his room a while ago, and we were sleeping peacefully. Or, at least, I was. Then, suddenly, he woke me up with a gentle kiss. He said that he'd been thinking for hours and had decided. I asked what he had decided on, and in response, he asked me to marry him." Sky sighed warmly, remembering how her Leo had asked her to marry him.

"I was so happy. I think I actually cried; I know his eyes were wet. I agreed and we went back to sleep. The next morning, I woke up and there he was, waiting for me. Usually, by the time I woke up, he was already practicing. But he was sitting there, meditating. In his hand was a ring box; he slipped the ring on my finger and then left without a word.

"By the time I was able to gather my thoughts and drag myself out of bed, it was almost lunch time. I didn't know what the heck to think; when his brothers saw the ring, they were stunned. I mean, this _was_ Leonardo we were talking about…" She gave a dreamy grin at the memory.

"Master Splinter blessed us and then died soon afterwards. Leonardo was heart-broken; but then we realized I was pregnant. He seemed determined to name our son "Splinter" in memory of his father. I thought that would be a fine name."

Beth paused then, staring at her son lovingly. Ralph was curled up in her arms, sucking on his thumb gently in his sleep.

"What happened?" Sky asked softly, stroking Lionel's wings soothingly as the youngling fussed.

"He changed. Got so angry all the time… Once, he even hit me… I think it hurt him so much to see that…" Beth looked away, tears crawling down her cheeks. "When Ralph was born… I wanted to name him after the one who had been so kind to me, even when Leonardo changed…" Beth sobbed quietly and Sky wrapped her arm around the distraught woman, shifting Lionel into her lap to do so. The small draconic turtle curled up like a cat, cooing softly in his sleep.

**AN: O.o Oookay, that took me a while… Sorry about the delay, all! Hope you liked it, leave a review!**


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